Reliable Synthesis of Hundred‐Gram‐Scale Fe–N–C Synergistic Catalysts With Fe–N 4 and Fe Atomic Clusters/Nanoparticles for High‐Performance Zn‐Air Batteries

Single‐atom sites integrated with atomic clusters (ACs)/nanoparticles (NPs) in M–N–C materials have emerged as advanced synergistic catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).

By Zhang, Zhu, Xia +11ChemSusChemOct 29, 2026

Score████░░░░░░4.3

Key numbers

0.950 V and a kinetic
0.90 V in alkaline medium

VerdictWorth a reader's time today.

Read the original

Abstract

Single‐atom sites integrated with atomic clusters (ACs)/nanoparticles (NPs) in M–N–C materials have emerged as advanced synergistic catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, achieving their reliable and scalable synthesis, as well as elucidating the genuine contributor to the synergy, remains a significant challenge. Herein, through a facile Fe 3+ impregnation of a pristine Fe–N–C support followed by thermal activation, we achieved a hundred‐gram‐scale synthesis of a high‐quality Fe–N–C synergistic catalyst comprising Fe–N 4 and Fe ACs/NPs. By comprehensive structural characterizations and theoretical calculations, we demonstrate that the enhanced apparent ORR activity originates from the electronic modulation of Fe–N 4 sites by their adjacent acid‐resistant Fe ACs. The optimized catalyst achieves a record‐high half‐wave potential of 0.950 V and a kinetic mass‐specific activity of 69.8 A g −1 at 0.90 V in alkaline medium among the reported Fe–N–C catalysts. This catalyst as ZAB cathode delivers an outstanding peak power density of 201 mW cm −2 with superior long‐term stability, far surpassing the benchmark Pt/C. This study represents a significant milestone in advancing the practical deployment of Fe–N–C synergistic catalysts for ZABs and analogous energy conversion technologies.

Qian Zhang, Xuya Zhu, Dongsheng Xia, Haijing Li, Jiaheng Huo, Huilin Dong, Junjie Huang, Yijie Sun, Xiaoyu Liang, Yiqi Ou, Jia Xin Liao, Guangjin Wang, Min Chen, Feiyu Kang

The editor's rubric

Heuristic review

Leverage3 / 5: A method or resource many groups across the field will adopt within a year.; 16% of this desk’s rubric
Magnitude3 / 5: Large gain: roughly 2x, or a clear new state of the art on a hard, unsaturated problem.; 20% of this desk’s rubric
Evidence3 / 5: Solid: multiple benchmarks or cohorts, ablations, fair baselines, released code or data.; 20% of this desk’s rubric
Novelty2 / 5: A new combination of known ideas.; 10% of this desk’s rubric
Trajectory3 / 5: A clear path to scale.; 14% of this desk’s rubric
Stakes2 / 5: Benefits a professional community (practitioners, clinicians, engineers).; 20% of this desk’s rubric

Dimension	Level	Weight	What that level means
Leverage	███░░3/5	16%	A method or resource many groups across the field will adopt within a year.
Magnitude	███░░3/5	20%	Large gain: roughly 2x, or a clear new state of the art on a hard, unsaturated problem.
Evidence	███░░3/5	20%	Solid: multiple benchmarks or cohorts, ablations, fair baselines, released code or data.
Novelty	██░░░2/5	10%	A new combination of known ideas.
Trajectory	███░░3/5	14%	A clear path to scale.
Stakes	██░░░2/5	20%	Benefits a professional community (practitioners, clinicians, engineers).

Editor’s rationale

Heuristic triage from title and abstract text only, not a reading of the paper. Cues found: method (we report); breadth (many tasks); gains (state of the art, outperforms); design (multicenter); scale (scalable); stakes (energy).

How the score was computed

rank-2026-10-18

Score████░░░░░░4.3

Score = 10 × (75% × adjusted merit / 10 + 15% × attention + 10% × freshness)

Desks place stronger verdicts first, then use this score to order work within the same verdict.

Merit: 5.4 / 10; Weighted rubric, evidence-gated.
Adjusted merit: 4.6 / 10; Shrunk toward the desk prior by editor confidence (44%).
Attention: 0%; Citations, upvotes, points, mentions.
Freshness: 85%; Half-life decay since publication.

Citations0 (reference 15, via openalex, Oct 31, 2026, 07:20 UTC)

The record

Reviewed by heuristic-v10 on Oct 31, 2026, 07:20 UTC. Paper type: method.
Categories: Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion, Catalytic Processes in Materials Science, Advanced battery technologies research, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Energy
TOP, No.6 in the Climate & Energy edition of October 31, 2026.