Unusual fullerene-like curved surface with unique Fe-N4 sites for highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction in zinc-air battery

Shaohuan Hong; Lingjie Yuan; Shenglin Liu; Kai Zhang; Rui Xiao; Yonglian Xiong; Hualin Ye; Yinlong Zhu; Feng Gong

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100154

The Innovation Energy > 2026 Vol. 3 > No. 2 > 100154

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Unusual fullerene-like curved surface with unique Fe-N₄ sites for highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction in zinc-air battery

1.
Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
2.
Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
3.
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
4.
College of Automotive Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China

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Corresponding authors: gongfeng@seu.edu.cn (F.G.); zhuyl1989@nuaa.edu.cn (Y.Z.); hualin@njnu.edu.cn (H.Y.).
Received Date: November 12, 2025

Accepted Date: March 09, 2026

Published Online: April 20, 2026

The Innovation Energy 3(2), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100154 | Cite this article

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PUBLIC SUMMARY
1. A composite-template strategy creates Fe–N–C catalysts with curved Fe–N₄ sites and hierarchical porosity.
  
  Curved surfaces stretch Fe–N bonds, promoting *OH desorption and accelerating ORR kinetics.
  
  The catalyst achieves a high half-wave potential of 0.91 V and ~7× higher mass activity.
  
  Calculations show a lower rate-determining barrier and weakened Fe–OH bonding.
  
  In Zn–air batteries, it outperforms Pt/C with higher power density and capacity.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Iron-Nitrogen-carbon (Fe-N-C) catalysts are promising substitutes for Pt-based catalysts in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for zinc-air battery. However, the sluggish kinetics of ORR on conventional Fe-N-C catalysts resulted from difficult desorption of *OH intermediate and the slow mass transfer significantly impede their practical application. Herein, a novel composite template-assisted strategy is proposed to prepare Fe-N₄ sites on unusual fullerene-like curved surface featuring stretched Fe-N bonds and hierarchically porous structure (denoted as f-Fe-NC). With unique curved Fe-N₄ sites and hierarchical porosity, f-Fe-NC exhibits an impressive half-wave potential (E_1/2) of 0.91 V vs. RHE. Moreover, the mass activity of f-Fe-NC is nearly sevenfold of that of ordinary Fe-NC featuring planar Fe-N₄ sites and microporous structure, and the turnover frequency of f-Fe-NC increases at exponent level compared to ordinary Fe-NC. Theoretical calculations demonstrate the reduced energy barrier of rate-determining step and favorable *OH desorption on f-Fe-NC because of the degradation of bond order of Fe-OH bond. Zinc-air battery based on f-Fe-NC exhibits a power density of 182 mW cm^-2 and a specific capacity of 811 mAh g^-1 at 10 mA cm^-2, overtaking those of commercial Pt/C. Our study opens a new avenue for the rational design of electrochemically and structurally advanced ORR catalysts.
- Oxygen Reduction Reaction /
- Fe-N-C /
- Single atom catalysts /
- Zinc-Air battery /
- Surface curvature

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REFERENCES

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Hong S., Yuan L., Liu S., et al. (2026). Unusual fullerene-like curved surface with unique Fe-N4 sites for highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction in zinc-air battery. The Innovation Energy 3:100154. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100154

Hong S., Yuan L., Liu S., et al. (2026). Unusual fullerene-like curved surface with unique Fe-N₄ sites for highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction in zinc-air battery. The Innovation Energy 3:100154. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100154

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Unusual fullerene-like curved surface with unique Fe-N₄ sites for highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction in zinc-air battery

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