3d(Fe)-5d(W) diatomic hybrid oxygen electrocatalysts enables ultra-stable operation of rechargeable zinc-air batteries for over 10,000 h

3d(Fe)-5d(W) diatomic hybrid oxygen electrocatalysts enables ultra-stable operation of rechargeable zinc-air batteries for over 10,000 h | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article 3d(Fe)-5d(W) diatomic hybrid oxygen electrocatalysts enables ultra-stable operation of rechargeable zinc-air batteries for over 10,000 h Zhi Li, Yifan Li, Hao Zhang, Chang Chen, Xuesong Xie, Yang Yang, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5530445/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 29 Aug, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Durable and highly active oxygen electrocatalysts are crucial to the large-scale application of rechargeable zinc-air batteries. In this work, we utilized the N 4 unit in Pc molecule to trap the tungsten atoms scratched off from the tungsten carbide milling balls and placed the obtained W-N 4 unit close adjacent to the Fe-N 4 units in FePc, resulting in highly active Fe-N 4 /W-N 4 diatomic sites with well-pronounced 3d-5d hybrid for efficient and durable oxygen electrocatalysis. The electron distribution of the Fe-N 4 site is optimized by the neighboring W-N 4 site, which facilitates the O 2 activation and the desorption of *OH and enhances the catalytic activity of the Fe-N 4 site. Meanwhile, the unsaturated 5d orbitals and tunable valence of the W atoms could modulate the electronic state of the Fe species, prevent leaching, and further enhance the catalytic stability. The resulting zinc-air battery with Fe,W-N-C air cathode exhibited unprecedented cycling stability and repeatability for over 10,000 hours. This remarkable stability improvement not only provides new perspectives for the commercialization of ultra-stable zinc-air batteries but also highlights the critical step in developing 5d metal-boosted 3d metal active sites to fabricate efficient oxygen electrocatalysts. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Electrocatalysis Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Energy storage/Batteries Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for energy and catalysis/Batteries Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementaryinformation.docx Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 29 Aug, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5530445","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":402065599,"identity":"4101acbf-6914-4635-a1ea-a38d3044d712","order_by":0,"name":"Zhi 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In this work, we utilized the N\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e unit in Pc molecule to trap the tungsten atoms scratched off from the tungsten carbide milling balls\u0026nbsp;and placed the obtained W-N\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e unit close adjacent to the Fe-N\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e units in FePc, resulting in\u0026nbsp;highly active Fe-N\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e/W-N\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e diatomic sites with well-pronounced 3d-5d hybrid for efficient and durable oxygen electrocatalysis. The electron distribution of the Fe-N\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e site is optimized by the neighboring W-N\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e site, which facilitates the O\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e activation and the desorption of *OH and enhances the catalytic activity of the\u0026nbsp;Fe-N\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e site. Meanwhile, the unsaturated 5d orbitals and tunable valence of the W atoms could modulate the electronic state of the Fe species, prevent leaching, and further enhance the catalytic stability. The resulting zinc-air battery with Fe,W-N-C air cathode exhibited unprecedented cycling stability and repeatability for over 10,000 hours. This remarkable stability improvement not only provides new perspectives for the commercialization of ultra-stable zinc-air batteries\u0026nbsp;but also highlights the critical step in developing 5d metal-boosted 3d metal active sites to fabricate efficient oxygen electrocatalysts.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"3d(Fe)-5d(W) diatomic hybrid oxygen electrocatalysts enables ultra-stable operation of rechargeable zinc-air batteries for over 10,000 h","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-01-15 09:06:36","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5530445/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-communications","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"NCOMMS","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Communications](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/","title":"Nature Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Communications","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"201bf46b-8ba0-4ee6-b7c2-a367a887d543","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 15th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":42853001,"name":"Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Electrocatalysis"},{"id":42853002,"name":"Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Energy storage/Batteries"},{"id":42853003,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for energy and catalysis/Batteries"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-08-30T07:06:20+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-5530445","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63540-w","journal":{"identity":"nature-communications","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Nature Communications"},"publishedOn":"2025-08-29 04:00:00","publishedOnDateReadable":"August 29th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-01-15 09:06:36","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41467-025-63540-w","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63540-w","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5530445","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5530445","identity":"rs-5530445","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}