Ni@PdNiOx Bimetallic Synergism and Oxide Site Modulation to Boost Oxygen Electrocatalysis in Highly Durable Zn-Air Batteries

doi:10.1007/s40242-025-5143-4

Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (1): 362-372.doi: 10.1007/s40242-025-5143-4

• Research Articles • Previous Articles Next Articles

Ni@PdNiO_x Bimetallic Synergism and Oxide Site Modulation to Boost Oxygen Electrocatalysis in Highly Durable Zn-Air Batteries

ZHANG Wen¹, ZHANG Ning^1,2, GAO Jianyang^1,3, LIU Fusheng³, ZHANG Yang¹, XU Guang-Rui¹, WANG Lei^1,2

1. Key Laboratory of Eco-chemical Engineering, International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Eco-chemical Engineering and Green Manufacturing, College of Environment and Safety Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China;
2. College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China;
3. College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China

Received:2025-07-11 Online:2026-02-01 Published:2026-01-28
Contact: WANG Lei,E-mail:inorchemwl@126.com;XU Guang-Rui,E-mail:xugrui@gmail.com;ZHANG Yang,E-mail:zhangyang@qust.edu.cn E-mail:inorchemwl@126.com;xugrui@gmail.com;zhangyang@qust.edu.cn
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52402273, 52272222, 52072197), the Youth Innovation Team Development Program of Shandong Higher Education Institutions, China (No. 2022KJ155), and the Taishan Scholar Young Talent Program, China (No. tsqn201909114).

Abstract

Abstract: Recently, zinc-air batteries have been of great interest due to their high theoretical specific energy that plays an important role in renewable energy conversion, while the sluggish kinetics of their half-reactions of oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution (ORR/OER) limit their widespread applications. Herein, we report the synthesis of self-assembly Ni@PdNiO_x seashell-like nanostructures (Ni@PdNiO_x NSs) with low Pd content through a novel one-step wet chemical method for the first time. The optimized self-assembly Ni@PdNiO_x NSs with a thickness of 2.06 nm are connected self-assembled to form a network structure, which exhibits a large surface area and unprecedented ORR/OER with a positive half-wave potential of 0.892 V vs. RHE and an overpotential of 230 mV at 10 mA/cm² in alkaline solution, outperforming most of the PdNi catalysts. When the self-assembly Ni@PdNiO_x NSs are applied as electrodes for zinc-air batteries, they deliver a high power density of 88.9 mW/cm² and an impressive energy density of 714 mA·h·g^-1. This work opens up a new strategy for generating superior oxygen electrocatalysis and provides new insight into the correlation of low Pd content and Ni in the improvement of alkaline oxygen electrocatalysis.

Key words: Low content precious metal, Rechargeable Zn-air battery, Seashell-like nanostructure, Network structure, Bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst

ZHANG Wen, ZHANG Ning, GAO Jianyang, LIU Fusheng, ZHANG Yang, XU Guang-Rui, WANG Lei. Ni@PdNiO_x Bimetallic Synergism and Oxide Site Modulation to Boost Oxygen Electrocatalysis in Highly Durable Zn-Air Batteries[J]. Chemical Research in Chinese Universities, 2026, 42(1): 362-372.

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Ni@PdNiO_x Bimetallic Synergism and Oxide Site Modulation to Boost Oxygen Electrocatalysis in Highly Durable Zn-Air Batteries

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