Single-atom catalysts have attracted widespread attention in recent years due to their high atom utilization and excellent catalytic performance, particularly, in oxygen electrocatalysis. Herein, we report to use ZIF-8 as precursor, which was annealed and subsequently mixed with melamine and transition metal salt to finally synthesize Cu-atoms modified N-doped carbon (NC) catalysts, which exhibited excellent oxygen reduction reaction activity and kinetic performance in alkaline solution. The constructed rechargeable Zn-air battery using Cu-NC and benchmark Pt/C catalyst supported on carbon fiber paper as the cathode and anode, respectively, exhibited super good long-term stability with remaining voltaic efficiency of 56% at a charge/discharge current density of 5 mA cm⁻² after running 250 cycles (ca. 42 h). Moreover, the power density was as high as 104.5 mW cm⁻² at 0.65 V, and such three Zn-air batteries connected in series could light up 34 LED bulbs (2 V and 1.5 W for each) used for constructing a figure of ‘USTL’ for at least 12 h. This research provides a facile method on the synthesis of efficient and cost-effective ORR electrocatalysts in renewable energy storage and conversion systems.

近年来，单原子催化剂因其原子利用率高和催化性能优异而受到广泛关注，尤其是在氧电催化方面。在此，我们报道使用 ZIF-8 作为前驱体，将其退火并随后与三聚氰胺和过渡金属盐混合，最终合成 Cu 原子改性的 N 掺杂碳（NC）催化剂，该催化剂表现出优异的氧还原反应活性和动力学性能在碱性溶液中。分别使用Cu-NC和碳纤维纸负载的基准Pt/C催化剂作为正极和负极构建的可充电锌空气电池，在充/放电电流下表现出良好的长期稳定性，剩余伏特效率为56% 5 mA cm ^{-2 的}密度运行 250 个循环后（约 42 小时）。此外，在 0.65 V 时功率密度高达 104.5 mW cm ^-2，这样三个串联的锌空气电池可以点亮 34 个 LED 灯泡（每个 2 V 和 1.5 W），用于构建“ USTL' 至少 12 小时。该研究为在可再生能源存储和转换系统中合成高效且具有成本效益的 ORR 电催化剂提供了一种简便的方法。