Electrospun nanofibers and their applications in rechargeable zinc–air batteries

Abstract

Electrospinning has been regarded as an efficient technique owing to its scalable operation and ease of fabrication of various nanofibers. In this review, recent progress on the design of electrospun nanofibers and their applications in zinc–air batteries are summarized. The working principles of zinc–air batteries and electrospinning techniques are introduced firstly. Then some recent works for the fabrication of suitable catalysts by electrospinning for zinc–air batteries are discussed systematically, including of the heteroatom-doped carbon-based nanofibers, nonprecious metal-based nanofibers, and their hybrids. Furthermore, membrane separators for zinc–air batteries synthesized by electrospinning are also introduced. Finally, the challenges and perspectives in this field are discussed and presented.