The application provides a carbon-based
transition metal nanoparticle and single-atom synergistic
electrocatalyst, a preparation method, application and a
zinc-air battery, and belongs to the technical field of electrocatalysis and
metal-air batteries. In the application, through the competitive anchoring and limited action of a
nitrogen-containing
metal chelating agent and a
nitrogen-rich precursor on
metal atoms in a
pyrolysis process, in-situ construction and stable coexistence of
transition metal nanoparticles and single atoms are realized in one step, a single-atom-
nanoparticle synergistic structure is formed, the single-atom sites dominate the efficient
oxygen reduction reaction, and the
nanoparticle sites dominate the efficient
oxygen evolution reaction. The method has the advantages of simple process, good
repeatability, easy scaling from a
kilogram to a
kilogram, and consistent catalyst structure performance after scaling. The membrane
electrode and the
zinc-air battery based on the catalyst show excellent
bifunctional catalytic activity,
high power density and long cycle stability, and provide a complete technical solution from materials to devices for the commercialization of high-performance and low-cost
zinc-air batteries.