Recently, the research team led by President Professor Wei Shizhong from Zhengzhou University of Light Industry (ZZULI), in collaboration with Professor Guo Shaojun from Peking University, published a high-quality academic paper titled "Pt1/MnO₂ Nanotip Inducing Local Electric Field Intensifies Oxygen Transport for High-Energy-Density Al-air Battery Stacks" in Advanced Materials (IF=26.8), an international top-tier journal in the field of materials science. ZZULI serves as the first affiliated institution, Professor Wei Shizhong and Associate Professor Gong Feilong act asco-corresponding authors, and Dr. Song Min, a young teacher, and Zhang Hongge, a master's candidate from the College of Material and Chemical Engineering, work as co-first authors.

This study focuses on addressing the critical bottleneck of low oxygen transport efficiency in the application of single-atom catalysts to metal-air batteries. By modulating the crystal facets of the MnO₂ support, the team has successfully enhanced the local electric field and optimized the coordination microenvironment of the active sites. This strategy significantly reduces oxygen transport resistance at the air cathode and increases the leaching energy barrier of Pt single atoms. Consequently, both the activity and stability of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are markedly improved, thereby enabling the efficient and stable operation of Al-air batteries. Experimental data show that batteries employing the B-Pt₁/MnO₂ catalyst achieve an energy density up to 3690.6 Wh kg⁻¹ and demonstrate remarkable stability at a current density of 50 mA cm⁻². Furthermore, its overall performance surpasses that of previously reported catalysts of the same type. Laboratory-scale cells employing this catalyst can reliably charge a mobile phone. The assembled Al-air battery stack achieves an energy density up to 480.2 Wh kg⁻¹, a value close to the technical requirements for power batteries set by the U.S. Department of Energy. Moreover, the stack can stably power a 180 W television. Techno-economic analysis indicates that the cost of this system is only one-fiftieth of that of reported Al-air batteries, unleashing broad application potential in the field of sustainable energy.

This research has been funded by the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and other programs.

Journal article link: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/adma.72745