Formation of porous CC@FexO/Co3O4–CuxO/CS photocathodes for high-power-density zinc-air batteries with reduced charging potential

Abstract

Herein, carbon-cloth-supported CC@Fe_xO/Co₃O₄–Cu_xO/CS was developed through dual heterojunction engineering, and it exhibited outstanding OER (overpotential of 301 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²) and ORR (onset potential of 884 mV at −0.1 mA cm⁻²) activities. The Fe_xO/Co₃O₄–Cu_xO heterojunction optimized charge transport and carrier separation efficiency. As-fabricated zinc–air batteries (ZABs) using this CC@Fe_xO/Co₃O₄–Cu_xO/CS achieved a low charging potential (1.66 V) at 0.1 mA cm⁻² with high energy density (103.21 mW cm⁻²) and specific capacity (795.14 mAh g⁻¹), surpassing those of Pt/C + IrO₂ systems (731.0 mAh g⁻¹). This work provides a new strategy for designing efficient non-precious-metal catalysts.