Work

Highly dispersive and ultrasmall PdCu alloy anchored on PAA-grafted carbon nanotube as electrocatalysts for rechargeable zinc−air batteries

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The study of electrocatalysis for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on non-platinum electrodes has attracted widespread interest. Herein, we demonstrate the exceptional electrocatalytic performance of PdCu alloy nanoparticles (NPs) supported on carbon nanotube (CNT) modified with grafted organic polymers in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Among various bimetallic combinations, CNT- g -PAA-Pd 3 Cu 1 showed the best ORR activity, with the composite material significantly favoring the 4-electron transfer process, indicating strong selectivity. The Pd 3 Cu 1 electrocatalyst outperformed the traditional Pt/C catalysts in terms of half-wave potential (0.902 V), limiting current density (5 mA cm −2 ), and Tafel slope (42.95 mV·dec −1 ) in the ORR. The rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) made from these composite materials exhibited significant peak power density (230.8 mW cm −2 ) and high specific capacity (558 mAh·g −1 ). This work provides a strategy for designing efficient electrocatalysts for use in energy conversion and storage applications.

Source: Journal of Power Sources

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2026.239504