(446a) Nature-Based Solutions: Food Waste-Derived Carbon Materials and Its Application in Air-Breathing Energy Storage

The sluggish kinetics of air electrodes prohibits the practical applications of metal-air batteries. At present, preparing single-atom catalysts confined in S, N-doped porous carbon (NPC) with a high surface area remains a challenge. Inspire by nature, waste from food and agriculture has significantly attracted our attention, e. g. fish scale, and shrimp shell where the inorganic part (hydroxyphalite, CaCO₃) could act as template, while organic part (collagen fiber, chitin fiber) is responsible for the carbon skeleton. The as-prepared NPC with a hierarchical structure would not only perform as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst, but provide abundant active sites for the charge-discharge process of air-breathing batteries. This study creates a pathway for high-performance ORR single atomic electrocatalysts for air-breathing batteries applications and provides opportunities to convert biowaste materials into commercial opportunities. We will further deploy the waste-derived catalyst to Na-CO₂ batteries to contribute the Net Zero Emissions. Our research team aims to pave a new avenue for the implementation of applying nature-based solutions (NbS) and green circular technologies towards responsible consumption and production in the scope of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).