近日，内蒙古大学能源材料化学研究院教授王永刚及其课题组报道了光催化和电催化双层阴极促进近中性锌空气电池中锌的过氧化化学。这一研究成果于2025年2月26日发表在国际顶尖学术期刊《美国化学会杂志》上。

研究组提出了一种双层催化阴极，包括负载在碳纸上的金（Au）纳米颗粒（NPs）装饰的氧化钨（Au@WO₃）的外层光触媒层（暴露在空气中）和基于碳纳米管（CNT）的内层电触媒层（暴露在电解质中）。疏水的内层碳纳米管不仅提供了许多活性位点和充足的容纳O₂/ZnO₂转化，而且还防止电解质接触外光触媒层。在光照下，外层光催化剂层有效地分离光生成的电子空穴对，然后将其转移到内层碳纳米管层，从而降低了O₂/ZnO₂电化学转换的过电位。结果表明，接近中性的ZAB在0.1mA cm^-2下具有很高的稳定性；具有非常小的电压滞后（<150mV），显著提高了能效。

据了解，以近中性水电解质为主题的可充电锌空气电池（ZABs）由于其高能量密度、低成本、高安全性以及锌（Zn）阳极在温和电解质中的优异可逆性而受到广泛关注。然而，这些电池的碳基阴极中O₂/ZnO₂转换缓慢，导致充电和放电之间的电压滞后较大（>600mV）。基于金属或金属氧化物的电催化剂很少用于降低这种转化的过电位，因为它们的存在可能引发不希望的H₂O参与的氧还原/析出反应，破坏电解质的pH平衡。

附：英文原文

Title: Photo- and Electrocatalytic Dual-Layer Cathode Facilitating Zn Peroxide Chemistry in Near-Neutral Zn–Air Batteries

Author: Ruiya Wang, Mingze Gao, Guochao Zhao, Jiecheng Chen, Ziyang Guo, Yonggang Wang

Issue&Volume: February 26, 2025

Abstract: Rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) using near-neutral aqueous electrolytes are gaining significant attention due to their high energy density, low cost, high safety, and the excellent reversibility of the zinc (Zn) anode in mild electrolytes. However, the sluggish O₂/ZnO₂ conversion in the carbon-based cathodes of these batteries leads to a large voltage hysteresis (>600 mV) between charge and discharge. Metal- or metal oxide-based electrocatalysts are rarely used to reduce the overpotentials of this conversion because their presence may trigger undesirable H₂O-participated oxygen reduction/evolution reactions, disrupting the pH balance of the electrolyte. Here, we propose a dual-layer catalytic cathode comprising an outer photocatalyst layer (exposed to air) of gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) decorated tungsten oxide (Au@WO₃) loaded on carbon paper, and an inner electrocatalyst layer (exposed to the electrolyte) based on carbon nanotube (CNT). The hydrophobic inner CNT layer not only provides numerous active sites and ample accommodation for O₂/ZnO₂ conversion but also prevents the electrolyte from contacting the outer photocatalyst layer. Under light, the outer photocatalyst layer effectively separates photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which are then transferred to the inner CNT layer, reducing the overpotential of the O₂/ZnO₂ electrochemical conversion. As a result, the near-neutral ZAB demonstrates high stability at 0.1 mA cm^–2; with a very small voltage hysteresis (<150 mV), significantly improving energy efficiency.

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c14009

Source: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jacs.4c14009