Cui Shuyu, Zhong Xiongwei, Li Zhitong, Zhu Peide, Hu Junjie, Zhou Xiaolong, Kidkhunthod Pinit, Wang Xingzhu, Mei Bingbao, Xu Baomin
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and SUSTech Energy Institute for Carbon Neutrality, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Department of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 41100, China.
Adv Mater. 2025 Sep;37(35):e2504099. doi: 10.1002/adma.202504099. Epub 2025 Jun 17.
Photo-assisted zinc-air batteries have garnered significant attention for applying solar energy to decrease the charge voltage and improve energy efficiency. However, the uniform and rapid synthesis of highly active, stable, and low-cost photoelectrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries remains a significant challenge. Herein, a pulsed laser method is reported for the rapid preparation of MXene-derived TiO/high-entropy alloy heterojunctions (M-TiO/HEAs) as photoelectrocatalysts. Benefiting from the exceptional photo-thermal conversion capability of MXene, the local temperature reaches up to 2800 K under laser irradiation, along with ultra-fast heating and cooling rates (≈10 K s), enabling the successful synthesis of M-TiO/HEAs. Zinc-air batteries incorporating M-TiO/HEAs exhibit a low charge voltage of 1.87 V at 10 mA cm under light irradiation. In addition, it exhibits exceptional cycle stability, maintaining stable cycling for 1000 h at a current density of 10 mA cm. Experiments and theoretical calculations reveal that M-TiO/HEAs heterojunctions exhibit strong electronic interactions. These interactions effectively promote the separation of photogenerated charge carriers and the conversion of electrochemical intermediates, thereby enhancing oxygen evolution reaction activity under light irradiation. This work offers valuable insights into the rapid fabrication of photoelectrocatalysts, providing new perspectives for developing light-enhanced energy storage systems.
