Prokaryote‐Inspired and Derived Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts for Ultra‐Long‐Life Zn–Air Batteries
Wenbo Zhao, Jipeng Chen, Ximeng Liu, Yong Gao, Jie Pu, Qinghe Cao, Ting Meng, Abdelnaby M. Elshahawy, Salah A. Makhlouf, Cao Guan
Abstract
Abstract The design of efficient oxygen reductionreaction (ORR) catalyst with fast kinetics is crucial for high‐performance Zn–air batteries but remains a challenge. Herein, inspired by the oxidative respiratory chain of prokaryotes, an ORR electrocatalyst is reported by mimicking the microstructure of Staphylococcus aureus and simitaneously utilizing this low‐cost cell as the precursor. The catalyst consists of MnO 2 /Co 2 P nanocomposites support on Staphylococcus aureus‐derived hollow spherical carbon, which not only accelerates electron transfer for improved intrinsic reaction kinetics, but also creates an OH − concentration gradient for enhanced mass transfer efficiency. Such bio‐inspired and derived ORR catalyst enables rechargeable Zn–air batteries with ultra‐long cycling stability of more than 2800 h at a high capacity of 810.3 mAh g −1 , which is superior among the reported bio‐derived oxygen catalysts. A flexible Zn–air battery based on the bio‐inspired and derived catalyst is also assembled, and it well integrates with a wireless flexible electronic skin.