Rechargeable zinc-air battery with bifunctional electrocatalyst of copper oxide and graphene nanoplatelets

Abstract

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries have been identified as promising technologies for energy storage. However, developing cost-effective electrocatalysts that can efficiently facilitate the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for their advancement. This work investigates synthesized electrocatalysts composed of graphene-Cu2O deposited on carbon cloth by doctor blading casting method as bifunctional electrodes in a rechargeable Zn-air battery. The battery integrated with graphene-Cu2O as the air-cathode electrocatalyst showed superior performance in terms of cycling stability compared to that without Cu2O. This enhanced performance is attributed to the reversibility of Cu+/Cu2+ species during the redox reactions facilitated by the high electrical conductivity of graphene. Therefore, the results suggest the potential of the synthesized electrodes for advancing the development of rechargeable Zn-air batteries.