Ag-Cu nanoalloyed film as a high-performance cathode electrocatalytic material for zinc-air battery

A novel Ag(50)Cu(50) film electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The electrocatalyst actually is Ag-Cu alloyed nanoparticles embedded in amorphous Cu film, based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization. The rotating disk electrode (RDE) measurements provide evidence that the ORR proceed via a four-electron pathway on the electrocatalysts in alkaline solution. And it is much more efficient than pure Ag catalyst. The catalytic layer has maximum power density of 67 mW cm(−2) and an acceptable cell voltage at 0.863 V when current densities increased up to 100 mA cm(−2) in the Ag(50)Cu(50)-based primary zinc-air battery. The resulting rechargeable zinc-air battery exhibits low charge-discharge voltage polarization of 1.1 V at 20 mAcm(−2) and high durability over 100 cycles in natural air.