Metal-carbon composite catalyst, manufacturing method thereof, and zinc-air battery comprising the same

Nitrogen-doped metal-carbon catalysts with structure control via NMP monomer radical polymerization and additive selection

This technology produces metal-carbon composite catalysts using N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP)-based monomers and metal precursors. By adjusting the type of organic additive, it controls the carbon matrix morphology (sheet or porous) and the metal bonding state (ionic or particulate). The metal binds to nitrogen-doped carbon to form M-N active sites, while metal particles are protected by an outer carbon shell for enhanced stability.

Conventional carbon-based catalysts suffer from difficult structure control, low process efficiency, and reliance on environmentally harmful acid/base treatments. Furthermore, noble metal catalysts like platinum or ruthenium are expensive, while low-cost metal catalysts often lack the activity and long-term stability required for oxygen reduction (ORR) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions.

This technology involves radical polymerization, heat treatment, and carbonization of monomers containing NMP and metal precursors. By selectively using organic additives like 4-aminopyridine or pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid, the structure and porosity of the carbon sheets or sponges can be tuned. Pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen doping optimizes metal binding, and the carbon shell improves durability. This allows for the creation of bifunctional catalysts using only low-cost transition metals without acid/base post-treatment, suitable for zinc-air battery air electrodes and fuel cell cathodes.

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Key Features:

• Preparing source materials containing monomers including methylpyrrolidone and metal precursors
• Carbonizing intermediate products obtained from heat-treating the source materials to produce carbon nanocatalysts with metal bonded to a carbon matrix structure
• Nitrogen-doped carbon sheets containing more pyrrolic nitrogen than graphitic nitrogen, with metal particles bonded to the nitrogen
• Metal particles supported within a porous carbon matrix, consisting of a metal nanoparticle core and a carbon shell covering the core surface

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