| Abstract | α-MnO₂ nanotubes-supported Co₃O₄ (Co₃O₄/MnO₂) and its carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-hybrids (Co₃O₄/MnO₂-CNTs)
have been successfully developed through a facile two-pot precipitation reaction and
hydrothermal process, which exhibit the superior bi-functional catalytic activity for both ORR and OER.
The high performance is believed to be induced by the hybrid effect among MnO₂ nanotubes, hollow
Co₃O₄ and CNTs, which can produce a synergetic enhancement. When integrated into the practical
primary and electrochemically rechargeable Zn-air batteries, such a hybrid catalyst can give a discharge
peak power density as high as 450 mW cm−². At 1.0 V of cell voltage, a current density of 324 mA cm−² is
achieved. This performance is superior to all reported non-precious metal catalysts in literature for zincair
batteries and significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art platinum-based catalyst. Particularly,
the rechargeable Zn-air battery can be fabricated into all-solid-state one through a simple solid-state
approach, which exhibits an excellent peak power density of 62 mW cm−², and the charge and discharge
potentials remain virtually unchanged during the overall cycles, which is comparable to the one with
liquid electrolyte. |
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