Tailoring the Solvation Environment Enables Dendrite-Free Zn Anodes for Stable Zinc-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Among sustainable energy storage systems, the aqueous Zn metal battery has stimulated fervent attention. However, dendrite growth, coupled with side reactions, is a major obstacle toward the widespread commercialization of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. An effective strategy is to deploy a modified electrolyte that could control the working cation solvation structure to improve the stability and reversibility. In this work, we employ 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2­(5H)-furanone (HDF) for tailoring the solvation environment of the electrolyte. The HDF molecule with high electron density coordinates with Zn2+ and the H2O molecule, changing the solvation structure with uniform 3D diffusion and lessening the water activity, which enables the dendrite-free Zn anode with high reversibility. Batteries with HDF exhibit a long lifespan of 1200 h at 2 mA cm–2 and good reversibility with 99.79% Coulombic efficiency over 900 cycles. The Zn//NH4V4O10 pouch battery with HDF delivers a higher capacity of 216 mAh g–1 over 600 cycles than the battery with the pure ZnSO4 electrolyte.

Confined Mn Ions Enhance Charge Transport for High-Performance Hydrated Vanadium Oxide Cathode

“…Aqueous rechargeable Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising candidates for large-scale energy storage owing to their cost-effectiveness, intrinsic safety, and environmental benefits. − However, the strong electrostatic interaction between Zn 2+ and host materials often leads to structural deterioration of the cathode material and sluggish electrochemical kinetics, thereby significantly limiting the electrochemical performance of AZIBs. − Therefore, developing advanced cathode materials that enable stable, rapid, and efficient Zn-ion insertion/extraction is a critical requirement for advancing aqueous zinc battery technologies.…”