Ni-Fe/Co-Fe Oxide-MoSe₂ Hybrid Nanostructures as Novel Electrocatalysts for High-Performance Rechargeable Zinc-Air...

Metal-air batteries can play a crucial role in curbing air pollution due to carbon emission. Here, we report the hydrothermally synthesized bimetal oxides (NiFe₂O₄ and CoFe₂O₄) and their hybrid nanostructures with MoSe₂ as potential electrocatalysts for electrically rechargeable Zn-air batteries. The NiFe₂O₄-MoSe₂ hybrid nanostructure exhibits the best electrocatalytic activity (overpotential η₁₀ ≈ 218 mV and Tafel slope ≈ 37 mV dec^-1) for the OER study among prepared electrocatalysts in 1 M KOH electrolyte. Among the designed rechargeable Zn-air batteries, hybrid nanostructure-based batteries show superior performance, with the NiFe₂O₄-MoSe₂ based device showing the best performance, having a high open-circuit voltage of ∼1.43 V, a peak power density of ∼176 mW cm^-2, a specific capacity of ∼1025 mAh g_Zn^-1, and an energy density of ∼1205 Wh kg_Zn^-1. The superior performance of the hybrid nanostructures is due to the synergistic effect between MoSe₂ and bimetal oxides, which enhances the conductivity, oxygen mobility, and active sites of the catalysts.