Abstract

Transforming discardable solid waste like polystyrene (PS) foams into commercially useful applications like sustainable and eco‐friendly energy materials has attracted considerable attention. Herein, expanded PS waste is subjected to simple reactions (cross‐linking and pyrolysis) to obtain a high‐performing electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The optimized catalyst polystyrene‐pyrrole (PSP‐800) demonstrates good electrocatalytic ORR activity toward rechargeable zinc–air battery due to its high surface area, copious amount of micropores/mesopores, high nitrogen content, and a trace amount of Fe doping. Accordingly, PSP‐800 delivers a high onset potential (0.99 V) and a half‐wave potential of 0.88 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode. Moreover, the rechargeable zinc–air battery using PSP‐800 as an ORR catalyst demonstrates improved stability and high‐power density (116 mW cm−2) compared to the standard Pt/C catalyst.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.