Oxygen Vacancy-Rich NiCo2O4 on Carbon Framework with Controlled Pore Architectures as Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Zn-Air Batteries

Transition metal oxides are considered alternative electrocatalysts for ZAB owing to their multiple oxidation states. However, they have limitations such as low electrical conductivity and the deficiency of reactive sites. In this study, to overcome these shortcomings and improve electrocatalytic activity, oxygen vacancies and porous architectures were introduced through a partial reduction process and a porous carbon framework. Open porous carbon microspheres with uniformly loaded NiCo2O4 nanosheets and oxygen vacancies (V-NCO/OPC) displayed enhanced electrocatalytic performance with a low Tafel slope (68 mV dec-1) in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and a low overpotential (402 mV) at 10 mA cm–2 in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The combined effect of the oxygen vacancies and porous architecture can offer sufficient active sites, modify the electronic structure of the metal oxide surface, and facilitate mass transport, enhancing the electrocatalytic properties of V-NCO/OPC. Furthermore, when applied for ZAB, V-NCO/OPC demonstrated better electrochemical performance including discharge power density (154.9 mW cm-2) at the current density of 175.9 mA cm-2, low voltage gap (0.85 V) at the initial cycle, and long-term (250 h) cycle stability at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 than those of noble-metal electrocatalysts.