The design of zinc-substituted cobalt (pyro)phosphates as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries.

In an effort to rationally design economic electrocatalysts, zinc-substituted cobalt phosphate and pyrophosphate were prepared using facile template-free combustion synthesis. They act as efficient stable bifunctional electrocatalysts due to the tuning of oxygen affinity by zinc substitution and catalytically active cobalt sites. Exploiting their bifunctional activity, these cobalt (pyro)phosphates were incorporated into a zinc-air battery in an alkaline electrolyte.