Boosting Oxygen Electrocatalysis in CoN‐CoSe <sub>2</sub> Heterogeneous Hollow Nanocages with Engineered Build‐In Electric Field for Zn–Air Batteries
Tiantian Tang, Hanwen He, Yukun Liu, Hongrui Yang, Jiabei Yu, Xinshuang Lin, Yang Song, Sen Zhang, Chao Deng
Abstract
Abstract The exploration of oxygen catalyst with superior behaviors in a wide temperature range is a key issue for Zn–air battery. Herein, the CoN‐CoSe 2 @C hollow cages with a built‐in electric field (BIEF) on heterointerface are explored as the oxygen electrocatalyst for Zn–air battery (ZAB). Based on the theoretical analysis, the large work function difference (∆W F ) of CoN‐CoSe 2 heterostructure propels the interfacial electron redistribution, which results in the strong BIEF and facilitates high catalytic activities. In addition, the CoN‐CoSe 2 nanocrystals are embedded in the hollow carbon nanocage to fully realize its performance. The central hollow structure of the carbon based nanocages provides the facile electron/ion/mass pathways and endows fast kinetics. Taking the advantages of both the strong BIEF and the well‐designed substrate, the CoN‐CoSe 2 @C hollow cages achieve the superior bifunctional electrocatalytic behaviors and good cycling performance even down to low‐temperature such as −30 °C. Moreover, the full ZAB with CoN‐CoSe 2 @C hollow cage cathode shows the superior performance and high reliability in diverse working conditions. Therefore, it is a promising power source candidate for the electronics in practical applications.