journal article·2026-03Open access

Advancing Flexible Zinc Air Battery: Exploring Non‐Noble Metal Oxides for Enhanced Electronic Structure Modulation in Scalable Engineering Design

Vijayapradeep Subramanian, S.C. Karthikeyan, Mohan Raj Subramaniam, Muthu Austeria P, Anoopa Thomas, Dong Jin Yoo

Small· Volume 22· Issue 15

Abstract

ABSTRACT Advancing flexible zinc‐air batteries requires cost‐effective, durable bifunctional catalysts capable of efficiently driving both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Here, we report a scalable reflux‐calcination strategy to prepare hierarchical flower‐like Fe–Mo oxides (FeMoO). The engineered Fe–O–Mo interactions effectively tune the electronic structure, lower adsorption energy barriers, and accelerate charge‐transfer kinetics. Among the series, Fe 0.25 Mo 0.75 O (FeMoO‐III) exhibited excellent OER activity with an overpotential of 240 mV at 10 mA cm −2 and remarkable stability exceeding 200 h at 50 mA cm −2 . Concurrently, ORR studies revealed a high half‐wave potential (0.86 V) and outstanding durability, confirming its bifunctional performance. When integrated into a rechargeable zinc‐air battery, FeMoO‐III delivered a high open‐circuit voltage of 1.51 V and sustained charge–discharge cycling over 175 h. Moreover, in a flexible quasi‐solid‐state zinc‐air battery, the FeMoO‐III cathode maintained stable operation for more than 56 h at 5 mA cm −2 , underscoring its suitability for wearable energy devices. This work demonstrates that rational modulation of non‐noble oxide electronic structures through Fe–Mo synergy offers a practical pathway toward scalable, high‐performance, and flexible zinc‐air batteries.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion · Advanced battery technologies research · Advanced oxidation water treatment

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Graduate School Department of Energy Storage/Conversion Engineering (BK21 FOUR) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research Center Jeonbuk National University Jeonju‐si Jeollabuk‐do Republic of Korea

Department of Chemistry Centre for Research and Development KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology Coimbatore Tamil Nadu India

Centre For Nano and Material Sciences Jain (Deemed‐to‐be University) Jain Global Campus Ramnagara India

Department of Life Science Jeonbuk National University Jeonju‐si Jeollabuk‐do Republic of Korea

Funding

Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning

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