Highly dispersed ternary metal FeZnCe with nitrogen/oxygen co-doped carbon materials for efficient oxygen electroreduction

An unusual trimetallic Fe/Zn/Ce atom site catalyst is elaborately developed with the nitrogen-coordinated Fe and Zn atoms and the oxygen-coordinated Ce nanoclusters (FeN4/ZnN4/Ce-O-Ce) anchored in nitrogen/oxygen-doped carbon, which demonstrated excellent performance in oxygen reduction reaction and zinc-air battery. [Display omitted] •Highly dispersed ternary metal-doped nitrogen-carbon materials modified with Fe, Zn, and Ce atoms was fabricated.•Demonstration of the existence of Fe-N4, Zn-N4, Ce-O-Ce in FeZnCe5-NC by EXAFS.•The oxygen reduction catalytic activity can be enhanced through the synergistic effect of Fe, Ce, and Zn.•FeZnCe5-NC displays excellent ORR performance in alkaline media. The synthesis of atomically dispersed multi-metals in hetero-element-doped carbon materials is crucial for improving the performance of the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), but represents a significant challenge. Herein, an unusual FeZnCe trimetallic atom site is elaborately developed with the nitrogen-coordinated Fe and Zn atoms and the oxygen-coordinated Ce nanoclusters (FeN4/ZnN4/Ce-O-Ce) anchored in nitrogen/oxygen-doped carbon via a simple wet chemistry strategy based on a liquid-phase organic small molecule formamide and a post-coordination process. Meanwhile, with the promotion of Ce, more active sites of Fe atoms can be effectively activated (site density of 24.9 μmol g−1 and turnover of frequency of 1.05s−1). Electrochemical measurements showed that the ternary FeZnCe5-NC achieved an excellent ORR performance in alkaline with an initial potential of 1.04 V and a half-wave potential of 0.88 V. Furthermore, the FeZnCe5-NC-based Zn-air battery exhibits high peak power density (172.4 mW cm−2) and specific capacity (819.2 mAhgZn-1), along with high-rate capability and good long-term stability.