@article{107,
  author = {Tahani Aldhafeeri and Marianna Uceda and Manila Valappil and Joel Pennings and Jessi Wan and Weixuan Li and Hao Zhang and Ghulam Abbas and Angad Singh and Michael Pope},
  title = {Laser-induced carbonization of MnO2–bioresin composites for stable air cathodes in alkaline Zn–air batteries},
  abstract = {<p><span>Laser conversion of polymers into high surface area conductive electrodes offers a furnace-free route to simultaneously form carbon supports and embed electrocatalysts. While laser-induced graphene (LIG) has been decorated with catalysts<span>&nbsp;</span></span><em>via</em><span><span>&nbsp;</span>post-processing, the influence of embedding catalyst precursors directly within the polymer on phase conversion and electrochemical performance has been far less explored. Herein, we investigated the laser conversion of polyfurfuryl alcohol, a biomass-derived resin, loaded with manganese dioxide (MnO</span><sub>2</sub><span>). Lasing consistently produced a mixed-phase MnO</span><sub>2</sub><span>/Mn</span><sub>3</sub><span>O</span><sub>4</sub><span>/MnO structure uniformly embedded within conductive carbon (LIG/Mn</span><sub><em>x</em></sub><span>O</span><sub><em>y</em></sub><span>). Ball milling of the MnO</span><sub>2</sub><span><span>&nbsp;</span>precursor reduced the particle size, increased retention of catalytically active Mn</span><sup>3+</sup><span><span>&nbsp;</span>species, and promoted a dominant four-electron oxygen reduction reaction pathway with a lower peroxide yield. Performance increased with loading up to an optimal 5 wt% milled MnO</span><sub>2</sub><span>, which exhibited the highest ORR activity. When incorporated into zinc–air batteries, these electrodes delivered power density comparable to Pt/C (20 wt%) and significantly enhanced the cycling stability relative to composites made by physically mixing carbon black with untreated MnO</span><sub>2</sub><span>, underscoring the benefits of laser-assisted embedding.</span></p>
},
  year = {2026},
  journal = {Journal of Materials Chemistry A},
  url = {https://pubs.rsc.org/ta/article/doi/10.1039/d6ta02159j/1278817/Laser-induced-carbonization-of-MnO2-bioresin},
  doi = {https://doi.org/10.1039/d6ta02159j},
}