Recent Achievements in Heterogeneous Bimetallic Atomically Dispersed Catalysts for Zn-Air Batteries: A Minireview

Rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs) hold promise as the next-generation energy-storage devices owing to their affordability, environmental friendliness, and safety. However, cathodic catalysts are easily inactivated in prolonged redox potential environments, resulting in inadequate energy efficiency and poor cycle stability. To address these challenges, anodic active sites require multiple-atom combinations, that is, ensembles of metals. Heterogeneous bimetallic atomically dispersed catalysts (HBADCs), consisting of heterogeneous isolated single atoms and atomic pairs, are expected to synergistically boost the cyclic oxygen reduction and evolution reactions of ZABs owing to their tuneable microenvironments. This minireview revisits recent achievements in HBADCs for ZABs. Coordination environment engineering and catalytic substrate structure optimization strategies are summarized to predict the innovation direction for HBADCs in ZAB performance enhancement. These HBADCs are divided into ferrous and nonferrous dual sites with unique microenvironments, including synergistic effects, ion modulation, electronic coupling, and catalytic activity. Finally, conclusions and perspectives relating to future challenges and potential opportunities are provided to optimise the performance of ZABs.