Aqueous zinc‐based rechargeable batteries are considered to be one of the most promising new energy storage systems due to their unique advantages (e.g., low cost, high safety, environmental friendliness, and high energy density). However, the formation of zinc dendrites at the anode during the operation can puncture the separator and even cause short circuit of batteries, which is one of the serious problems in Zn‐based batteries. Therefore, understanding the growth process of dendrites and suppressing the formation of zinc dendrites are necessary for the further development and large‐scale applications of Zn‐based batteries. Herein, the growth mechanism and the influence factors of zinc dendrites are first introduced in detail by combining the experimental and theoretical results. Moreover, the effective strategies for suppressing dendrites through micronanostructured design are summarized, including surface modification, alloying, and substrate selection/porous structure engineering. In the end, the challenges in the further development of high‐performance dendrite‐free zinc anode are discussed, and the research frontiers trends are prospected as well. It is aimed to shed light on the rational design and structure tuning of high‐performance zinc electrode materials for advanced zinc‐based secondary batteries for clean energy storage technologies.

Owing to their unique electronic structure and maximum atom utilization efficiency, single‐atom catalysts have received widespread attention and exhibited efficient activity. Herein, we report the preparation of non‐metal Se single atoms embedded in nitrogen‐doped carbon (NC) via a high‐temperature reduction strategy for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Selenium dioxide is reduced to selenium by NC at high temperature and partially anchored to form C−Se−C bond. Impressively, the obtained single‐atom catalyst exhibits outstanding ORR activity and stability that even surpasses state‐of‐the‐art noble metal catalysts and many previously reported nanocatalysts. Experimental and theoretical calculations reveal that the Se single atoms can serve as the ORR active sites and contribute to lowering the reaction barrier. Our discoveries demonstrate the promising prospects for utilizing metal‐free single‐atom‐based materials for efficient electrocatalysis.

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Owing to their unique electronic structure and maximum atom utilization efficiency, single-atom catalysts have received widespread attention and exhibited efficient activity. Herein, we report the preparation of non-metal Se single atoms embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) via a high-temperature reduction strategy for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Selenium dioxide is reduced to selenium by NC at high temperature and partially anchored to form CÀ SeÀ C bond. Impressively, the obtained single-atom catalyst exhibits outstanding ORR activity and stability that even surpasses state-of-the-art noble metal catalysts and many previously reported nanocatalysts. Experimental and theoretical calculations reveal that the Se single atoms can serve as the ORR active sites and contribute to lowering the reaction barrier. Our discoveries demonstrate the promising prospects for utilizing metal-free single-atombased materials for efficient electrocatalysis.

No abstract