Zeolitic imidazolate framework induced CoFe-PBA/Carbides hollow cube toward robust bi-functional electrochemical oxygen reaction

•sc-PBA/Carbides@NC with multi-scale mass transfer channel was fabricated for ZAB application.•A combination of ZIF-67 templates and acid etching was employed to integrate the micropores of CoFe-PBA.•The multi-stage porous structure allowed exposure of active sites and enhanced material transport during ORR/OER.•ZAB exhibited a maximum power density of 235 mW/cm2 and excellent stability.