Electrospun carbon nanofiber decorated with Co-Ni alloy nanoparticles as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for Zn-ir battery

• Electrospun carbon nanofiber decorated with Co-Ni alloy nanoparticles are successfully prepared. • The sample shows high-performance bifunctional oxygen catalyst activity. • The synergistic interaction endows the sample with the improved catalyst activity. • Zn-air battery is assembled to show an impressive exemplification for practical applications. Carbon nanofiber decorated with Co-Ni alloy nanoparticles (NCCNFs) are prepared by the electrospinning technique and subsequent annealing process. Benefitting from the synergistic effect of component, NCCNFs can be served as the bifunctional oxygen catalyst with high-performance electrocatalytic activity. Moreover, a Zn-air battery using NCCNFs as the cathode catalyst delivers high power density and long-term cycle stability. This work opens new avenues to easily construct high-performance bifunctional electrocatalysts for metal-air batteries.