Batteries are undergoing rapid advances. For example, modern zinc-air batteries have the remarkable ability to use oxygen as energy—but that oxygen isn't stored in the battery itself. Zinc-air batteries take in surrounding oxygen to undergo a reaction to discharge energy called the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). While this convenient strategy is promising, the slow speed of the ORR limits the practicality of these batteries.
However, researchers at Tohoku University found a method to enhance ORR activity using a catalyst with a precise configuration of iron (Fe). Their remarkable heterointerface—which is a combination of Fe2O3 and Sm2O3—accelerates ORR kinetics by inducing charge redistribution, orbital hybridization and super-exchange-mediated spin modulation. In other words, they have fine-tuned an efficient and sustainably sourced catalyst to bring out the true potential of zinc-air batteries.
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