Interface Engineering of Air Electrocatalysts for Rechargeable Zinc–Air Batteries

Abstract

In the face of high costs and the insufficient energy density of current lithiumion batteries, aqueous rechargeable zinc (Zn)-air batteries with the advantages of low cost, environmental benignity, safety, and high energy density have been growing in importance in recent years. The practical application of Zn-air batteries, however, is severely restricted by the high overpotential, which is associated with the inherent sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of air electrocatalysts. Recently, engineering heterostructured/hybrid electrocatalysts with modulated interface chemistry have been demonstrated as an effective strategy to improve the catalytic performance. Significant electronic effects, geometric effects, coordination effects, synergistic effects, and confinement effects occur at the heterostructure interface, which intensely affect electrocatalysts' performance in terms of intrinsic activity, active site density, and durability. In this review, the recent progress in the development of heterostructured air electrocatalysts by interface engineering is summarized. Particularly, the potential relationship between interface chemistry and oxygen electrocatalysis kinetics is bridged and outlined. This review provides a comprehensive and in-depth outline of the crucial role of the well-defined interfaces towards fast oxygen electrocatalysis, and offers a solid scientific basis for the rational design of efficient heterostructured air electrocatalysts and beyond.

N, S Codoped Carbon Matrix‐Encapsulated Co9S8 Nanoparticles as a Highly Efficient and Durable Bifunctional Oxygen Redox Electrocatalyst for Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries

“…In the ORR and OER catalytic processes, a series of surface reactions occur on the catalyst surface/interface, including charge transfer, molecular reconstruction, bond breaking, and formation. [3,5,14] In this regard, factors such as the density of exposed active sites, the electrical conductivity, and the reaction energy barrier of the electrocatalyst surface/interface are extremely important for the catalytic performance. In this work the transition metal sulfides and the graphitized carbon, doped with heterogeneous atoms materials, were combined to prepare the bifunctional catalyst for ORR and OER via Co 9 S 8 encapsulation in N, S codoped carbon matrix (Co 9 S 8 @N, S-C), and used it for ZnABs.…”

“…[ 4 ] It can be seen from the reaction path: the reaction process on the surface/interface of the air electrode catalyst (ORR and OER) of the ZnABs is quite complicated and kinetics slow, which impedes the development of rechargeable ZnABs. [ 5,6 ] Therefore, it is highly required to select the bifunctional oxygen electrode materials with superior catalytic performance.…”

Wood‐Derived Integral Air Electrode for Enhanced Interfacial Electrocatalysis in Rechargeable Zinc–Air Battery

“…[5,6] Theoretically, an effective multiphase interface will assist abundant catalytic active sites to effectively participate into the electrode redox reaction. [7,8] Interfacial engineering plays an equally critical role in relation to intrinsic electrocatalytic activity in electrode construction. [9,10] Serious challenges still exist in fabrication of electrodes with relatively more abundant triple-phase boundaries (TPBs).…”

Atomically Dispersed Transition Metal-Nitrogen-Carbon Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalysts for Zinc-Air Batteries: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

“…To alleviate the dependence on traditional fossil fuels and reduce environmental degradation, significant efforts have been focused on the development of harvesting, conversion, and storage of low-cost and environmentally friendly renewable energy [1][2][3][4]. As one of the most promising next-generation energy storage devices, rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) are considered to be potentially used in electric vehicles, flexible wearable electronic devices, etc., due to their high theoretical energy density (1086 Wh kg −1 ), high cell voltage (1.66 V), good safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness [5][6][7][8][9].…”