Progress of carbon-based electrocatalysts for flexible zinc-air batteries in the past 5 years: recent strategies for design, synthesis and performance optimization

The increasing popularity of wearable electronic devices has led to the rapid development of flexible energy conversion systems. Flexible rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) with high theoretical energy densities demonstrate significant potential as next-generation flexible energy devices that can be applied in wearable electronic products. The design of highly efficient and air-stable cathodes that can electrochemically catalyze both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are highly desirable but challenging. Flexible carbon-based catalysts for ORR/OER catalysis can be broadly categorized into two types: (i) self-supporting catalysts based on the in situ modification of flexible substrates; (ii) non-self-supporting catalysts based on surface coatings of flexible substrates. Methods used to optimize the catalytic performance include doping with atoms and regulation of the electronic structure and coordination environment. This review summarizes the most recently proposed strategies for the synthesis of designer carbon-based electrocatalysts and the optimization of their electrocatalytic performances in air electrodes. And we significantly focus on the analysis of the inherent active sites and their electrocatalytic mechanisms when applied as flexible ZABs catalysts. The findings of this review can assist in the design of more valuable carbon-based air electrodes and their corresponding flexible ZABs for application in wearable electronic devices.