Spin-State Reconfiguration and Lattice Oxygen Activation Co-Mediated Oxygen Evolution Catalysis Pathway via Artificial Hetero-Sites for Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries

It is desirable but challenging to develop low-cost and high-performance electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in zinc–air batteries (ZABs) applications. In this work, a series of cerium oxide-coated cobalt vanadium oxide nanoplates (denoted as CVO@CeO 2 ) are prepared using different CeO 2 loadings through a facile two-step method. Compared to bare CVO, CeO 2, and commercial RuO 2 , the CVO@CeO 2 -0.20 catalyst presents much higher activity toward OER in alkaline solutions. Moreover, the CVO@CeO 2 -0.20 also exhibits superior open-circuit voltage and durability when utilized as the cathode in ZABs. Both theoretical calculations and experimental results disclose that the decoration of CeO 2 on CVO not only regulates the formation of high-spin state Co 3+ , optimizing the absorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) pathway, but also activates lattice oxygen, enhancing the lattice oxide oxidation mechanism (LOM) pathway. This research presents the CVO@CeO 2 heterojunction as an excellent catalyst for the OER and proposes a promising interface-regulated strategy for developing catalysts based on the reinforcement of AEM and LOM mechanisms.