Ultrafast Superfilling Construction of a Metal Artificial Interface for Long‐Term Stable Zinc Anodes

Abstract

Zinc (Zn)‐metal anodes are promising candidates for large‐scale, highly safe energy‐storage systems. However, their cycling life is associated with instability issues such as dendritic growth, corrosion, and hydrogen evolution. Introducing an artificial metal interface is expected to help overcome this challenge owing to the optimization of the absorption, nucleation, and growth of Zn2+. In this study, an ultrafast, universal, and cost‐effective superfilling approach is developed to construct a metal artificial interface decorated Zn anode in situ. Most zincophilic metals, including Sn, Cu, and Ag, can be used to construct a homogenous interface without any restrictions on the size, morphology, or curvature of the substrates. With Sn as a proof‐of‐concept demonstration, the as‐obtained Sn@Zn anode is conducive for the homogenous Zn nuclei and 2D diffusion of Zn2+ ions. Symmetric cells with Sn@Zn electrodes can be operated for over 900 h at different current densities. This superior performance contributes to the attractive electrochemical characteristics of both coin and scaled‐up Sn@Zn//β‐MnO2 cells. Given the facile and cost‐effective fabrication and recyclability of the cells, this work enables the efficient design and exploration of Zn anodes for research, industrialization, and commercialization purposes.

Crowding Effect-Induced Zinc-Enriched/Water-Lean Polymer Interfacial Layer Toward Practical Zn-Iodine Batteries

“…In order to investigate the regulating effect of the Zn-CCS polymer crowding layer more deeply, chronoamperometry (CA) was applied to analyze the Zn deposition behavior under the three-electrodes system. When the potential was 150 mV, the current on the bare Zn surface increased rapidly and irregularly, and the Zn underwent 2D-directional diffusion and uncontrollable disorderly deposition within 1000 s. In contrast, Zn-CCS polymer crowding layer regulated the diffusion and Zn deposition behavior at the zinc anode interface, and rapidly induced the deposition of Zn 2+ at a stable current, which promotes the uniform deposition of zinc anode (Figure j). , Zn-CCS polymer crowding layer with solid electrolyte chemistry was also a favorable physical barrier; the Tafel test showed that Zn-CCS polymer crowding layer could also play a multifunctional performance in regulating Zn ion transport and deposition by reducing corrosion current (2.218 mA) and corrosion potential (−0.977 V), which was also consistent with its weak adsorption ability to anions as mentioned previously. , The results suggested that the abundant functional groups on the Zn-CCS polymer crowding layer confer excellent ion conductivity, modulation of Zn 2+ kinetic behavior, and enhancement of corrosion resistance.…”

Lithium Bis(oxalate)borate Additive for Self‐repairing Zincophilic Solid Electrolyte Interphases towards Ultrahigh‐rate and Ultra‐stable Zinc Anodes

“…One routine, facile way for SEI introduction is to physically coat functional materials onto Zn surface. It has been demonstrated that the presence of metals (Sn, [5] Ag, [6] etc. ), inorganic salts (ZnSnO 3 , [7] Zn y O 1‐x F x , [8] etc .)…”

Polymer Coating with Balanced Coordination Strength and Ion Conductivity for Dendrite‐Free Zinc Anode

“…[12][13][14] Amongst these strategies, the protective layer approach holds the advantages of simple operation, controllable cost, and no sacrifice of intrinsic capacity. [15,16] So far, a rich variety of materials like carbonbased materials, [17,18] metals, [19,20] metal oxides [21,22] and polymers [23,24] have been designed as coatings for the Zn anode. Notably, polymer coatings have shown prominent interfacial compatibility and readily tunable structures.…”