Fe/MWCNT Nanostructures Synthesized via CVD for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Performance in Zinc‐Air Batteries

Abstract Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a widely used technique for growing high‐quality carbon on metal surfaces such as Cu, Ni, and Si, particularly for energy storage applications. This work employs CVD to grow carbon on Ni foam, using iron chloride as a catalyst and acetylene as the carbon precursor at a temperature of 700 °C. The resulting carbon is thoroughly characterized using Raman spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy, which reveals the morphology as multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) anchored with iron nanoparticles. Due to their high specific surface area and conductivity, carbon‐based materials serve as excellent catalyst supports in energy conversion and storage devices, including fuel cells, supercapacitors, and batteries. The present work investigates Fe/MWCNT nanostructures as cathode materials for zinc‐air batteries. The Fe/MWCNT structures achieve a cycle life of 330 cycles (20 min each) at discharge and charge current densities of 5.2 mA cm⁻², which is three times higher than bare carbon black and five times greater than reduced graphene oxide (rGO). This highlights the electrocatalytic role of Fe nanoparticles in enhancing the oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions during Zn‐air battery operation. These findings emphasize the significant potential of CVD‐grown carbon materials in advancing next‐generation energy storage technologies.