Precisely designing asymmetrical selenium-based dual-atom sites for efficient oxygen reduction
Abstract Owing to their synergistic interactions, dual-atom catalysts (DACs) with well-defined active sites are attracting increasing attention. However, more experimental research and theoretical investigations are needed to further construct explicit dual-atom sites and understand the synergy that...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55862-6 |
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| author | Xiaochen Wang Ning Zhang Huishan Shang Haojie Duan Zhiyi Sun Lili Zhang Yuanting Lei Xuan Luo Liang Zhang Bing Zhang Wenxing Chen |
| author_facet | Xiaochen Wang Ning Zhang Huishan Shang Haojie Duan Zhiyi Sun Lili Zhang Yuanting Lei Xuan Luo Liang Zhang Bing Zhang Wenxing Chen |
| author_sort | Xiaochen Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Owing to their synergistic interactions, dual-atom catalysts (DACs) with well-defined active sites are attracting increasing attention. However, more experimental research and theoretical investigations are needed to further construct explicit dual-atom sites and understand the synergy that facilitates multistep catalytic reactions. Herein, we precisely design a series of asymmetric selenium-based dual-atom catalysts that comprise heteronuclear SeN2–MN2 (M = Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, etc.) active sites for the efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Spectroscopic characterisation and theoretical calculations revealed that heteronuclear selenium atoms can efficiently polarise the charge distribution of other metal atoms through short-range regulation. In addition, compared with the Se or Fe single-atom sites, the SeFe dual-atom sites facilitate a reduction in the conversion energy barrier from *O to *OH via the coadsorption of *O intermediates. Among these designed selenium-based dual-atom catalysts, selenium-iron dual-atom catalysts achieves superior alkaline ORR performance, with a half-wave potential of 0.926 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode. In addition, the SeN2–FeN2-based Zn–air battery has a high specific capacity (764.8 mAh g−1) and a maximum power density (287.2 mW cm−2). This work may provide a good perspective for designing heteronuclear DACs to improve ORR efficiency. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-795fb9a1e54b4b4da99389b68de4253b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-795fb9a1e54b4b4da99389b68de4253b2025-01-12T12:31:05ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111410.1038/s41467-025-55862-6Precisely designing asymmetrical selenium-based dual-atom sites for efficient oxygen reductionXiaochen Wang0Ning Zhang1Huishan Shang2Haojie Duan3Zhiyi Sun4Lili Zhang5Yuanting Lei6Xuan Luo7Liang Zhang8Bing Zhang9Wenxing Chen10School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou UniversityZhongyuan Critical Metals Laboratory, Zhengzhou UniversitySchool of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou UniversityCentre for Combustion Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Green Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua UniversityEnergy & Catalysis Centre, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of TechnologySchool of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou UniversitySchool of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou UniversityCentre for Combustion Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Green Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua UniversityCentre for Combustion Energy, School of Vehicle and Mobility, State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Green Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua UniversitySchool of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou UniversityEnergy & Catalysis Centre, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of TechnologyAbstract Owing to their synergistic interactions, dual-atom catalysts (DACs) with well-defined active sites are attracting increasing attention. However, more experimental research and theoretical investigations are needed to further construct explicit dual-atom sites and understand the synergy that facilitates multistep catalytic reactions. Herein, we precisely design a series of asymmetric selenium-based dual-atom catalysts that comprise heteronuclear SeN2–MN2 (M = Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, etc.) active sites for the efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Spectroscopic characterisation and theoretical calculations revealed that heteronuclear selenium atoms can efficiently polarise the charge distribution of other metal atoms through short-range regulation. In addition, compared with the Se or Fe single-atom sites, the SeFe dual-atom sites facilitate a reduction in the conversion energy barrier from *O to *OH via the coadsorption of *O intermediates. Among these designed selenium-based dual-atom catalysts, selenium-iron dual-atom catalysts achieves superior alkaline ORR performance, with a half-wave potential of 0.926 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode. In addition, the SeN2–FeN2-based Zn–air battery has a high specific capacity (764.8 mAh g−1) and a maximum power density (287.2 mW cm−2). This work may provide a good perspective for designing heteronuclear DACs to improve ORR efficiency.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55862-6 |
| spellingShingle | Xiaochen Wang Ning Zhang Huishan Shang Haojie Duan Zhiyi Sun Lili Zhang Yuanting Lei Xuan Luo Liang Zhang Bing Zhang Wenxing Chen Precisely designing asymmetrical selenium-based dual-atom sites for efficient oxygen reduction Nature Communications |
| title | Precisely designing asymmetrical selenium-based dual-atom sites for efficient oxygen reduction |
| title_full | Precisely designing asymmetrical selenium-based dual-atom sites for efficient oxygen reduction |
| title_fullStr | Precisely designing asymmetrical selenium-based dual-atom sites for efficient oxygen reduction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Precisely designing asymmetrical selenium-based dual-atom sites for efficient oxygen reduction |
| title_short | Precisely designing asymmetrical selenium-based dual-atom sites for efficient oxygen reduction |
| title_sort | precisely designing asymmetrical selenium based dual atom sites for efficient oxygen reduction |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55862-6 |
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