Tissue-derived highly compressible anisotropic carbon aerogels with aligned fibrous matrices for solid-state rechargeable zinc-cobalt-air hybrid batteries

Abstract

The rising demand for wearable zinc-air batteries encounters challenges in balancing electrochemical performance and mechanical resilience. Elastic carbon aerogels in air cathodes necessitate a metal content constraint of less than 3 wt.%, adversely impacting catalytic activity optimization. This study presents a novel fabrication method for fibrous carbon aerogels with high compressive resilience and extraordinary catalytic performance. An external layer of graphene shells and carbon nanotubes integrated onto the fibrous carbon matrix mitigates metallic species diffusion. This confinement ensures exceptional bi-catalytic activity for oxygen-involved redox reactions without compromising ultra-elasticity. With high cobalt content in the aerogel cathode, it exhibits minimal voltage gaps during charge–discharge cycles, showcasing unique zinc-cobalt-air hybrid battery characteristics. It sustains exceptional elasticity in repeated testing, achieving approximately 79.2% round-trip efficiency over a 60-h cycle test, underscoring its potential as a wearable energy storage device.