An Organic Polymer with a Bifunctional Electrocatalytic Activity in Oxygen Reactions

Abstract

Thin films of polymer from 3,4-ethylenedithiathiophene (EDTT) were synthesized using oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD). The synthesized materials were electrochemically active and revealed bifunctional electrocatalytic activities, catalyzing oxygen reduction and evolution reactions, with the onset potentials of 0.87 V and 1.72 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), respectively. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the carbon atoms, adjacent to the heteroatom in the thiophene ring, are the catalytic sites. We applied a thin-film of PEDTT onto a gas diffusion layer fabric to create an air-cathode for integration into the architecture of rechargeable zinc-air batteries.