Self-catalyzed Co, N-doped carbon nanotubes-grafted hollow carbon polyhedrons as efficient trifunctional electrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries and self-powered overall water splitting

A self-sacrificing/catalyzed strategy is proposed to develop Co,N-anchored hollow carbon polyhedrons entangled with N-doped carbon nanotubes. Morphological and compositional controls make the fabrication of ORR/OER/HER trifunctional 'all-in-one' structure feasible. [Display omitted] •A trifunctional electrocatalyst Co-CNT@NHC is fabricated by a self-sacrificing/catalyzed strategy.•Structural and compositional advantages produce exceptionally trifunctional catalytic activities.•The catalyst exhibits a favorable prospect for self-driven water splitting powered by Zn-air batteries. It is still essential and challenging to explore inexpensive and versatile electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), for the development of rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) and overall water splitting. Herein, a rambutan-like trifunctional electrocatalyst is fabricated by re-growth of secondary zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIFs) on ZIF-8-derived ZnO and the following carbonization treatment. Co nanoparticles (NPs) are encapsulated into N-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNT) grafted N-enriched hollow carbon (NHC) polyhedrons to form the Co-NCNT@NHC catalyst. The strong synergy between the N-doped carbon matrix and Co NPs endows Co-NCNT@NHC with trifunctional catalytic activity. The Co-NCNT@NHC displays a half-wave potential of 0.88 V versus RHE for ORR in alkaline electrolyte, an overpotential of 300 mV at 20 mA cm−2 for OER, and an overpotential of 180 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for HER. Impressively, a water electrolyzer is successfully powered by two rechargeable ZABs in series, with Co-NCNT@NHC as the 'all-in-one' electrocatalyst. These findings are inspiring for the rational fabrication of high-performance and multifunctional electrocatalysts intended for the practical application of integrated energy-related systems.