Hierarchical FeC/MnO2 composite with in-situ grown CNTs as an advanced trifunctional catalyst for water splitting and Metal−Air batteries

Abstract In high demand is developing trifunctional electrocatalysts to simultaneously drive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution/reduction reaction (OER/ORR) for metal-air batteries and water splitting. Here we develop the carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-grafted FeC/MnO2 nanocomposite catalyst by carbonizing FeMn metal-organic frameworks. The synergistic effect between FeC and MnO2 dominantly contributes the ORR, OER, and HER. The transition metal-mediated growth of CNTs by an in-situ catalysis mechanism enables high electrical conductivity, abundant active sites, as well as efficient reaction pathways. The optimized chemical composite and unique hierarchical structure endow the FeC/MnO2 with low overpotentials for multiply electrochemical reactions. Consequently, the composite catalyst successfully serves as the bifunctional electrode for water splitting with a voltage of 1.66 V at 10 mA cm−2 as well as the cathode for all-solid-state metal-air battery with Pt/C-comparable performance. The advanced transition metal composite presented in this work provides the guidance for rationally developing trifunctional electrocatalysts for efficient integrated energy conversion systems.