Heterogeneous interface engineering to enhance oxygen electrocatalytic activity for rechargeable zinc–air batteries

• Published in: Inorganic chemistry frontiers 2025-01, Vol.12 (1), p.205-216
• Main Authors: Tao-Tao, Li, Yu-Rui, Ji, Yi-Meng, Wu, Peng-Fei, Wang, Zong-Lin, Liu, Shu, Jie, Ting-Feng, Yi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Electrocatalysts; Heterojunctions; Metal air batteries; Porous materials; Reaction kinetics; Zinc-oxygen batteries
• ISSN: 2052-1545; 2052-1553
• DOI: 10.1039/d4qi02213k

The electrocatalytic activity of catalysts can be significantly enhanced through the utilization of heterogeneous structures. Nevertheless, the optimization of both catalytic activity and durability via heterojunction engineering remains a considerable challenge. In this work, we fabricated electrocatalysts of Co/CoO heterojunctions on a highly porous hollow carbon material. The formation of heterojunctions increases the abundance of accessible active sites and optimizes the electrocatalytic reaction kinetics and reactivity. Thus, the prepared catalysts (Co/CoO@N–C-40) deliver robust and stable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic activity during the oxygen reduction/evolution reaction (ORR/OER) process. The performance of rechargeable zinc–air batteries (ZABs) greatly depends on bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts, which are crucial for efficient charging and discharging processes. Consequently, the Co/CoO@N–C-40-based ZABs have superior cycling stability (750 h) and show a stable energy efficiency of 55.10% at 10 mA cm−2 (53.46% after 555 h). This work offers a high-quality oxygen electrocatalyst for ZABs and extends the application of heterogeneous interfacial catalysts in various energy storage and conversion devices.