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Low-cost bio-inspired electrocatalyst for rechargeable metal-air battery

By Peter Moore on April 22, 2020

Indian scientists have developed a low-cost electrocatalyst based on iron, manganese and N-doped carbon derived from fish gills (Fe/Mn/N-FGC) to increase the performance of a homemade rechargeable zinc-air battery. The Fe/Mn/N-FGC cathode-based battery achieved open-circuit voltage of 1.41 V and a large power density of 220 mW/cm2 at 260 mA/cm2 current density – compared to 1.40 V and 158 mW/cm2 for a commercial platinum/carbon-based battery – with almost stable charge-discharge voltage plateaus at high current density.

Photo by Abby Wilcox for pv magazine

Image: pv magazine/Abby Wilcox

From pv magazine India

Indian scientists have synthesized a bio-inspired electrocatalyst in a bid to develop efficient, low-cost energy conversion and storage technologies such as fuel cells, biofuel cells, and metal-air batteries. 

The electrocatalyst – developed by Dr- Ramendra Sundar Dey and his team at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali – is based on iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and N-doped fish gill-derived carbon (Fe/Mn/N-FGC). It has a unique porous structure and could provide conductive carbon networks after heat treatment. 

For the full story, please visit our pv magazine India site.

Source: pv magazine

Published in Green Technology

Peter Moore
Peter Moore

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