Electronic/mass transport increased hollow porous Cu3P/MoP nanospheres with strong electronic interaction for promoting oxygen reduction in Zn-air batteries

Developing high-efficient non-noble metal-based catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is an inevitable way to improve Zinc-air batteries' performance (ZAB). Herein, we report a Cu3P/MoP electrocatalyst (Cu3P/[email protected]) supported by hollow-porous-carbon nanospheres displaying high electrocatalytic activity and exceptional durability in alkaline media. The optimized ORR catalyst outperformed the benchmark Pt/C (20 wt%) and most recently reported Cu-/Mo-based catalysts in various aspects. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that the excellent ORR performance originates from the charge transfer between of Cu3P and MoP species. Besides, the large specific surface area of Cu3P/[email protected] with mesoporous structure is particularly advantageous for the inner surface contact with electrolyte to accelerate ORR kinetics. Moreover, Cu3P/[email protected] also exhibits a large power density of 156 mW cm−2, a high round-trip efficiency, and superb stability over 231 h superior to Pt/C in the ZAB. This work offers a scalable and promising approach for the rational fabrication of hollow porous structure materials.