Zn foil pretreatment is a direct route to alleviating Zn anode instability and maintaining high energy performance in Zn metal batteries. Unfortunately, prevailing methods for achieving an ideal Zn surface texture do not enable durable operation under a large depth of discharge, thus impairing the Zn utilization ratio. Zn etching is a more feasible way to control the surface texture, but this approach remains relatively unexplored. In this study, a general strategy is reported for Zn foil engraving in aprotic media to realize efficient anode pretreatment in terms of stability. These tests are performed using high-valence metal ions (especially Mo 5+ ) in an aprotic environment as the key etchant to render a homogenously-distributed, 3D porous architecture on the Zn foil surface. Comprehensive experimental results and theoretical simulations revealed enhanced Zn nucleation and growth. This specially designed electrode exhibited a long lifespan with a large depth of discharge of 88% in symmetric cells. When assembled with a Zn x V 2 O 5 cathode, the constructed cell demonstrated nearly full capacity retention even under stringent conditions (e.g., an N/P capacity ratio of 5.5). This study demonstrates the potential of a Zn etching pretreatment to address the prototypical instability issues of Zn anodes.

The unsatisfactory cycling stability of Zn anode stemming from dendritic growth and side reactions has slowed the rapid development of aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs). Constructing a three-dimensional (3D) artificial interphase layer is an appealing solution since it could dictate Zn deposition at the interface. Here, the in situ growth of a Cu-based metal–organic framework (Cu-MOF) over commercial Zn foil followed by subsequent selenization endows selenized Cu-MOF (SCM) with a stabilized Zn anode. The 3D SCM coating could homogenize the electric field and function as a reservoir to tolerate the deposited Zn. As a result, both rampant dendritic propagation and the notorious side reactions are concurrently inhibited. The SCM@Zn symmetric cell displays an elongated cyclic life for over 500 h at 2.0 mA cm–2. The assembled AZIB full cell readily realizes high electrochemical reversibility under different current densities. Our investigation offers insights into the design of a protective layer for high-performance Zn anodes.