Uncontrollable growth of zinc dendrites and byproducts has become the main factor which limits the life of zinc-ion batteries. Herein, we reported a nonionic surfactant, coconut diethanolamide (CDA), which can be applied as an electrolyte additive. It not only effectively suppresses zinc graft growth and promotes uniform growth of zinc dendrites but also efficiently inhibits the generation of side reactions and byproducts. When CDA is added to the electrolyte, the life of the battery has been significantly improved (1580 h). Compared with an electrolyte without CDA (100 h), its life has grown more than 10 times. CDA can adsorb on the surface of the zinc electrode to form a protective layer by its special molecular structure. Therefore, zinc ions will have a higher barrier for deposition, and there should be induced uniform deposition. Moreover, the Cu/Zn cell shows 98% average Coulomb efficiency in the electrolyte with CDA after about 620 h. In addition, after long-term cycles, the addition of CDA enables the MnO2/Zn cell to show 85% capacity retention and 98% average Coulomb efficiency. The electrolyte additives reported in this study will provide a more convenient and environmentally friendly way to effectively solve the problem of zinc branches.

This paper studies the problem of incentivizing an agent in an innovation project when the progress of innovation is known only to the agent. I assume the success of innovation requires an intermediate breakthrough and a final breakthrough, with only the latter being observed by the principal. Two properties of optimal contracts are identified. First, conditional on the total level of financing, optimal contracts induce efficient actions from the agent. Second, the reward for success to the agent is in general non-monotone in success * I am deeply indebted to my advisor George Mailath for his guidance and continuous support. I am grateful to Steve Matthews and Andy Postlewaite for their valuable advice. I also thank Aislinn Bohren, Hanming Fang, Itay

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Aqueous zinc-ion batteries are a promising option for rechargeable energy storage devices. However, their performance is limited by the growth of zinc dendrites that can cause short circuits. Our research shows that adding a certain percentage of hydrogen peroxide solution to the electrolyte can effectively inhibit the irregular and non-planar growth of zinc dendrite crystals. This additive alters the deposition pattern of zinc and reduces surface roughness. Our experimental results indicate that the electrolyte with H2O2 can increase the cycle life by about 13 times compared to the electrolyte without the additive, extending it to 1057 h. The mechanism analysis reveals that H2O2 replaces H2O in forming hydrated zinc ions and facilitates zinc deposition during charging. Additionally, H2O2 significantly lowers the over-potential for zinc dendrite nucleation and suppresses the tip effect, leading to a uniform zinc morphology. This simple and eco-friendly electrolyte additive provides a strategy to regulate the deposition behavior of zinc.

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