A new carbon-foam-based catalyst for rechargeable zinc-air batteries that performs as well or better than most previously reported catalysts, including platinum/metal oxide-based ones. This is what researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the University of North Texas say they have made. The new carbon nanostructure, which is cheap, easy to make and environmentally friendly, works efficiently for the both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) – two key chemical reactions in metal-air batteries. It might be used to replace expensive platinum and other metal-based ORR and OER catalysts in a wide range of applications, including fuel cells, metal-air batteries, solar cells and even water-splitting systems…..
http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/60815