Ultra-Low CoNi Alloy Nanoparticle Loaded Polypyrrole Nanospheres as Oxygen Electrocatalysts in Alkaline to Near-Neutral Zinc-Air Batteries
6 affiliations
- 1Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Hyderabad, Serilingampally Mandal, Hyderabad, India, 500046
- 2Electrical and Computer Engineering, Binghamton University, P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton, NY, 13902-6000
- 3Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
- 4Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- 5Integrated Discovery Sciences Directorate
- 6Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Abstract
Dearth of a wide-range pH-adaptable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst is a bottleneck in the advancement of efficient metal-air batteries as catalysts optimized for alkaline media often lose effectiveness under near-neutral conditions. Herein, we report an ultralow (~1 atomic%) amount of CoNi alloy loaded polypyrrole-derived graphitic nanoparticle (CoNiPpy) system as a pH-adaptable oxygen electrocatalyst for high energy density and durability in near-neutral zinc-air batteries (ZABs) with 100% coulombic efficiency. The efficient activity of CoNiPpy towards oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions (ORR and OER) is established, with CoNiPpy showing a lower overpotential than the benchmarked Pt-IrO2 catalyst combo in both alkaline and near-neutral electrolytes. When employed as the air cathode in rechargeable ZABs, CoNiPpy outperforms Pt/C benchmarks, sustaining > 650 cycles in alkaline electrolyte and >1100 cycles for ~200 h in near-neutral electrolyte. Stable operating voltages of 1.435 V and 1.235 V are achieved in alkaline and near-neutral ZABs respectively. Series connected cells further power a 33 mW lighting load for more than 1 h and operate portable sensors, demonstrating functionality beyond conventional electrochemical benchmarking. Detailed full-cell analysis demonstrates that, rather than relying on high metal loadings, trace CoNi incorporation into a conductive N-containing carbon framework can enable a single bifunctional air cathode to operate across both alkaline and near-neutral ZAB chemistries. The findings further emphasize that appropriate electrolyte selection plays an important role in full-cell performance and guiding the development of scalable zinc-air battery systems.
Related
- Microbial Pyrolysis for the Sustainable Synthesis of Nanoparticle-Embedded Carbon Electrocatalysts
- Exploring nickel-based electrocatalysts for overall alkaline water electrolysis and the hydrogen evolution reaction coupled with the glucose oxidation reaction
- Effects of Carbon Functionalization on Pd/C Electrocatalysts for Alcohol Oxidation and Alkaline Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells
- Boosting Charge Storage in Ferri/Ferrocyanide‐Based Alkaline Redox Flow Batteries
- Dual-Ligand Engineering of a Stable and High-Utilization Iron Complex Anolyte for Alkaline All-Iron Flow Batteries
BibTeX
@misc{pattanayak2026ultralow,
title = {{Ultra-Low CoNi Alloy Nanoparticle Loaded Polypyrrole Nanospheres as Oxygen Electrocatalysts in Alkaline to Near-Neutral Zinc-Air Batteries}},
author = {Subhra R. Pattanayak and Pallavi Thakur and Saswata Goswami and Hyoju Park and Arun Devaraj and Chandra Sekhar Tiwary and Tharangattu N. Narayanan and Subhra Ranjita Pattanayak},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15009865/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009865/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Ultra-Low CoNi Alloy Nanoparticle Loaded Polypyrrole Nanospheres as Oxygen Electrocatalysts in Alkaline to Near-Neutral Zinc-Air Batteries
AU - Subhra R. Pattanayak
AU - Pallavi Thakur
AU - Saswata Goswami
AU - Hyoju Park
AU - Arun Devaraj
AU - Chandra Sekhar Tiwary
AU - Tharangattu N. Narayanan
AU - Subhra Ranjita Pattanayak
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15009865/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009865/v1
AB - Dearth of a wide-range pH-adaptable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst is a bottleneck in the advancement of efficient metal-air batteries as catalysts optimized for alkaline media often lose effectiveness under near-neutral conditions. Herein, we report an ultralow (~1 atomic%) amount of CoNi alloy loaded polypyrrole-derived graphitic nanoparticle (CoNiPpy) system as a pH-adaptable oxygen electrocatalyst for high energy density and durability in near-neutral zinc-air batteries (ZABs) with 100% coulombic efficiency. The efficient activity of CoNiPpy towards oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions (ORR and OER) is established, with CoNiPpy showing a lower overpotential than the benchmarked Pt-IrO2 catalyst combo in both alkaline and near-neutral electrolytes. When employed as the air cathode in rechargeable ZABs, CoNiPpy outperforms Pt/C benchmarks, sustaining > 650 cycles in alkaline electrolyte and >1100 cycles for ~200 h in near-neutral electrolyte. Stable operating voltages of 1.435 V and 1.235 V are achieved in alkaline and near-neutral ZABs respectively. Series connected cells further power a 33 mW lighting load for more than 1 h and operate portable sensors, demonstrating functionality beyond conventional electrochemical benchmarking. Detailed full-cell analysis demonstrates that, rather than relying on high metal loadings, trace CoNi incorporation into a conductive N-containing carbon framework can enable a single bifunctional air cathode to operate across both alkaline and near-neutral ZAB chemistries. The findings further emphasize that appropriate electrolyte selection plays an important role in full-cell performance and guiding the development of scalable zinc-air battery systems.
ER -