Construction strategies and interface regulation of heterojunction oxygen electrodes: a review on optimizing the performance of high-efficiency zinc–air batteries

Zinc-air batteries (ZABs) hold promising prospects in energy storage and portable electronics due to their high theoretical energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness. As the core component governing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the performance of the oxygen electrode directly determines the overall battery performance. Heterojunctions represent a key strategy for overcoming catalytic bottlenecks in oxygen electrodes by optimizing electronic structures through interface engineering, promoting charge transfer, and enhancing active site utilization. This review summarizes construction strategies for heterojunction oxygen electrodes, including composite materials, interfacial engineering, and structural design. It analyzes ORR/OER regulation mechanisms such as synergistic catalysis, summarizes application progress in zinc-air batteries, and identifies existing challenges. Finally, it outlines future development directions. This review provides theoretical guidance and technical references for designing and developing highly efficient heterojunction oxygen electrodes.