Abstract
Rechargeable aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) and Zn–air batteries (ZABs) are emerging as possible alternatives to Li-based batteries due to their high safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. The development of high-performance Zn-based energy storage devices requires highly durable, efficient, and earth-abundant cathode catalysts. We demonstrate the synthesis of a three-dimensional (3D) hybrid heterostructure based on MnO-Co and graphitic carbon and its bifunctional energy storage performance toward an ZIB and ZAB for the first time. The 3D nanoarchitecture of N-doped graphitic carbon (NC)-encapsulated MnO-Co heterostructure (MnO-Co@NC) supported on onion-like graphitic carbon (OLC) is obtained from a manganese- and cobalt-based multi-metal complex Mn3[Co(CN)6]2. The NC outer shell is strongly coupled with the inner MnO-Co heterostructure and integrated with OLC. An ZIB …
