Umeå University's logo

Simultaneously tuning the electronic structure of active sites and the microenvironment of the carbon matrix in metal phosphide/carbon nanohybrids is the most effective way to design and develop bi-functional electrocatalysts for electrochemically related energy storage devices. Inspired by this, a robust and advanced N/P co-doped carbon-based dodecahedron catalyst with confined Fe-doped Co2P particles was successfully prepared through a multi-doping engineering strategy. Phytic acid molecules, which were used in the synthesis of the catalyst, not only contribute to the formation of the porous structure, but also act as a phosphorus source to form the corresponding metal phosphide and the P dopant in the carbon matrix. Thanks to the unique composition and structure-dependent merits, the microenvironment of the electrocatalyst was significantly modulated, thus promoting the advantageous local charge rearrangement and smooth mass/charge transfer processes during the oxygen-related electrocatalytic reactions. As a result, the resultant catalyst exhibited significantly enhanced reversible oxygen activity, as evidenced by an ultra-small potential gap of 0.655 V (half-wave potential of 0.895 V for the oxygen reduction reaction; η10 of 320 mV for the oxygen evolution reaction), a remarkable specific capacity of 762 mA h gZn−1, and high voltaic efficiency, exceeding most previous reports. This study provides a new synthetic approach for fabricating highly efficient bi-functional oxygen catalysts and can be handily extended to the synthesis of other heterogeneous electrocatalysts for sustainable energy storage.