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Published on: July 25, 2025
Photo-excited Oxygen Reduction and Oxygen Evolution Reactions Enable a High-Performance Zn-Air Battery
Dongfeng Du1, Shuo Zhao1, Zhuo Zhu1
1Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
Abstract:
The storage of solar energy in battery systems is pivotal for a sustainable society, which faces many challenges. Herein, a Zn-air battery is constructed with two cathodes of poly(1,4-di(2-thienyl))benzene (PDTB) and TiO2 grown on carbon papers to sandwich a Zn anode. The PDTB cathode is illuminated in a discharging process, in which photoelectrons are excited into the conduction band of PDTB to promote oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and raise the output voltage. In a reverse process, holes in the valence band of the illuminated TiO2 cathode are driven for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by an applied voltage. A record-high discharge voltage of 1.90 V and an unprecedented low charge voltage of 0.59 V are achieved in the photo-involved Zn-air battery, regardless of the equilibrium voltage. This work offers an innovative pathway for photo-energy utilization in rechargeable batteries.
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