From Cucurbit[7]Uril Armor‐Equipped Ferrocene to Nitrogen Self‐Doped Porous Carbon Hosting Fe Single Atoms and Atomic Clusters for ORR and Zinc‐Air Batteries

ABSTRACT Achieving both high activity and metal loading of atomically dispersed metal sites in M─N─C catalysts remain a formidable challenge. Herein, we employ the macrocyclic supramolecule cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) as a nanocage precursor and ferrocene (Fc) as a metal source, respectively. Through spontaneous host–guest self‐assembly, an angstrom‐level space‐confined precursor (Fc@CB[7]) was constructed, providing a well‐defined molecular scaffold for oxygen electrocatalysts. The resulting Fc@CB[7] complex exhibits a cage‐with‐lid geometry, endowing it with the structural characteristics of a metal monatomic precursor. Upon coating the Fc@CB[7] complex with ternary eutectic salts (NaCl, KCl, ZnCl 2 , named TESs) and subjecting it to pyrolysis, we obtained a novel oxygen electrocatalyst, denoted Fe AC ─Fe SA /N─CBC 0.7 , featuring coexisting Fe atomic clusters and Fe single atoms. The deliberately designed Fe AC ─Fe SA /N─CBC 0.7 catalyst delivers a remarkable half‐wave potential ( E 1/2 ) of 0.915 V and outstanding Zn–air battery (ZAB) performance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations identify the presence of Fe 7 clusters that modulate the local electronic configuration of Fe─N 4 sites and weaken *OH adsorption, thereby accelerating the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics. This work not only paves a way between supramolecular chemistry and electrochemistry but also provides fundamental insights into the structure–activity relationship of Fe AC ─Fe SA /N─CBC 0.7 for ORR.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-05-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.5762572
Primary Topic
Supramolecular Chemistry and Complexes
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

From Cucurbit[7]Uril Armor‐Equipped Ferrocene to Nitrogen Self‐Doped Porous Carbon Hosting Fe Single Atoms and Atomic Clusters for ORR and Zinc‐Air Batteries

黄海, Shufei Zhu, Canzhong Lu, Jie Yin et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Supramolecular Chemistry and Complexes
article

From Cucurbit[7]Uril Armor‐Equipped Ferrocene to Nitrogen Self‐Doped Porous Carbon Hosting Fe Single Atoms and Atomic Clusters for ORR and Zinc‐Air Batteries

黄海, Shufei Zhu, Canzhong Lu, Jie Yin, Yiming Xie, Tao Wu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Achieving both high activity and metal loading of atomically dispersed metal sites in M─N─C catalysts remain a formidable challenge. Herein, we employ the macrocyclic supramolecule cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) as a nanocage precursor and ferrocene (Fc) as a metal source, respectively. Through spontaneous host–guest self‐assembly, an angstrom‐level space‐confined precursor (Fc@CB[7]) was constructed, providing a well‐defined molecular scaffold for oxygen electrocatalysts. The resulting Fc@CB[7] complex exhibits a cage‐with‐lid geometry, endowing it with the structural characteristics of a metal monatomic precursor. Upon coating the Fc@CB[7] complex with ternary eutectic salts (NaCl, KCl, ZnCl 2 , named TESs) and subjecting it to pyrolysis, we obtained a novel oxygen electrocatalyst, denoted Fe AC ─Fe SA /N─CBC 0.7 , featuring coexisting Fe atomic clusters and Fe single atoms. The deliberately designed Fe AC ─Fe SA /N─CBC 0.7 catalyst delivers a remarkable half‐wave potential ( E 1/2 ) of 0.915 V and outstanding Zn–air battery (ZAB) performance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations identify the presence of Fe 7 clusters that modulate the local electronic configuration of Fe─N 4 sites and weaken *OH adsorption, thereby accelerating the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics. This work not only paves a way between supramolecular chemistry and electrochemistry but also provides fundamental insights into the structure–activity relationship of Fe AC ─Fe SA /N─CBC 0.7 for ORR.

Angewandte Chemie
Huaqiao University (CN), Xiamen Institute of Rare-earth Materials (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Supramolecular Chemistry and Complexes
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.