Unlocking\nthe Potential of Tailored Hollow Carbon\nSpheres for High-Performance Zinc-Air Batteries

A low-cost, highly stable, bifunctional\nelectrocatalyst\nis crucial\nfor advancing zinc-air battery technology. This study introduces a\ncobalt oxide-decorated nitrogen sulfur dual-doped hollow carbon sphere,\nas a promising candidate for the air cathode of a zinc-air battery.\nSynthesized using a novel single-step hard template method, the catalyst\nexhibits exceptional performance in both oxygen evolution and oxygen\nreduction reactions, rivaling commercial RuO<sub>2</sub> and Pt/C\ncatalysts. This enhanced bifunctional activity is due to the synergistic\neffects of metal oxide decoration and heteroatom doping (nitrogen,\nsulfur). When integrated into a zinc-air battery, the catalyst delivers\nan impressive power density (205 mW cm<sup>–2</sup>) and specific\ncapacitance (737 mA h g<sup>–1</sup>), surpassing commercial\nalternatives. The catalyst demonstrates exceptional long-term stability,\nmaintaining its performance for over 160 h, a significant improvement\ncompared with commercial Pt/C + RuO<sub>2</sub>. These results highlight\nthe outstanding stability and durability of cobalt oxide-decorated\nnitrogen sulfur dual-doped hollow carbon sphere as a promising candidate\nfor air cathode materials in future zinc-air batteries.