Nanosecond Laser Synthesis of MXene‐Derived TiO ₂ /High‐Entropy Alloys for Photo‐Assisted Zinc–Air Batteries

Photo-assisted zinc-air batteries have garnered significant attention for applying solar energy to decrease the charge voltage and improve energy efficiency. However, the uniform and rapid synthesis of highly active, stable, and low-cost photoelectrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries remains a significant challenge. Herein, a pulsed laser method is reported for the rapid preparation of MXene-derived TiO₂/high-entropy alloy heterojunctions (M-TiO₂/HEAs) as photoelectrocatalysts. Benefiting from the exceptional photo-thermal conversion capability of MXene, the local temperature reaches up to 2800 K under laser irradiation, along with ultra-fast heating and cooling rates (≈10⁶ K s^-1), enabling the successful synthesis of M-TiO₂/HEAs. Zinc-air batteries incorporating M-TiO₂/HEAs exhibit a low charge voltage of 1.87 V at 10 mA cm^-2 under light irradiation. In addition, it exhibits exceptional cycle stability, maintaining stable cycling for 1000 h at a current density of 10 mA cm^-2. Experiments and theoretical calculations reveal that M-TiO₂/HEAs heterojunctions exhibit strong electronic interactions. These interactions effectively promote the separation of photogenerated charge carriers and the conversion of electrochemical intermediates, thereby enhancing oxygen evolution reaction activity under light irradiation. This work offers valuable insights into the rapid fabrication of photoelectrocatalysts, providing new perspectives for developing light-enhanced energy storage systems.