Silver and Polyvalent Cobalt Encapsulated in N‐Doped Carbon Nanomaterials as an Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Zn‐Air Battery

Rational design of nonprecious bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR/OER) is essential for rechargeable zinc‐air batteries. Here, a nitrogen‐doped carbon‐coated catalyst incorporating silver and mixed‐valence cobalt species is synthesized via a low‐temperature strategy followed by molten salt‐assisted pyrolysis and chemical reduction. The approach modulates the crystallization of ZIF‐67 and embedded KCl, which upon melting creates a hierarchical porous structure beneficial for mass transport and active site exposure. The introduced Ag nanoparticles enhance electrical conductivity and facilitate electron transfer. The resulting catalyst, Ag/Co/Co 3 O 4 @NC‐5, exhibits outstanding ORR ( E 1/2 = 0.853 V) and OER ( E j = 10 = 330 mV) performance. A zinc‐air battery based on this catalyst demonstrates excellent stability over 160 h with only 0.076 V decay after 150 cycles. This work offers a novel synthesis route for efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts.