Nitrogen-doped carbonaceous catalysts for gas-diffusion cathodes for alkaline aluminum-air batteries

•N-doped carbonaceous catalysts for ORR were synthesized of CoTMPP and PAN.•Pore volume distribution of gas-diffusion and active layers is characterized.•Potential cycling of cathodes leads to their activation due to hydrophilization.•Power density of 300 mW cm-2 is achieved for alkaline Al-air cell.

Cobalt tetramethoxyphenyl porphyrin and polyacrylonitrile - based catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction were synthesized and characterized by means of SEM, TEM, XPS, BET, limited evaporation method, rotating disc and rotating ring-disc electrode methods. Half-cell and Al-air cell tests were carried out to determine the characteristics of gas-diffusion cathodes. Effect of active layer thickness and its composition on the characteristics of the gas-diffusion cathodes was investigated. Power density of 300 mW cm−2 was achieved for alkaline Al-air cell with an air-breathing polyacrylonitrile-based cathode.