Hybrid interlayer enables dendrite-free and deposition-modulated zinc anodes

Metal zinc is regarded as one of ideal anode choices for aqueous batteries owing to the high-safety and low-cost energy storage property. Nevertheless, the poor reversibility and short cycle life of metal Zn anodes caused by notorious dendrites and chemical corrosion have compromised the practical application. In this direction, a new formed ZnO/C hybrid serving as a multifunctional artificial protection layer is designed via simple complex calcination method and coated on zinc surface to mitigate degradation. The as-synthesized inorganic-carbon hybrid interlayer is utilized as a robust physical barrier to remit corrosion of electrolyte and avoid drastic evolution of dendrite, which can contribute to uniform interfacial Zn ion flux, even charge distribution, and increased stripping/plating reversibility. The electrochemical results indicate deposition stability is greatly improved with an extended cycle life of 2000 h at 0.25 mA cm(-2) and 600 h at 5 mA cm(-2). Even under high current density of 10 mA cm(-2), the coated electrode can still stably maintain for over 300 h. Moreover, the feasibility of artificial layer is also investigated by full cells with MnO2- and V2O5-based cathodes. All of the full battery devices exhibit long operation life with higher specific capacity, revealing the prospect of ZnO/C hybrid interlayer in aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries.

Automated summary

A new ZnO/C hybrid interlayer is designed to mitigate the degradation of metal zinc anodes caused by dendrites and chemical corrosion, improving the deposition stability and cycle life of the batteries significantly. The artificial protective layer demonstrates potential in enhancing the performance of aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries, showing long operation life and higher specific capacity in full battery devices with MnO2- and V2O5-based cathodes.