Zincophilic Electrode Interphase with Appended Proton Reservoir Ability Stabilizes Zn Metal Anodes

The rampant dendrites and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) resulting from the turbulent interfacial evolution at the anode/electrolyte are the main culprits of short lifespan and low Coulombic efficiency of Zn metal batteries. In this work, a versatile protective coating with excellent zincophilic and amphoteric features is constructed on the surface of Zn metal (ZP@Zn) as dendrite-free anodes. This kind of protective coating possesses the advantages of reversible proton storage and rapid desolvation kinetics, thereby mitigating the HER and facilitating homogeneous nucleation concomitantly. Furthermore, the space charge polarization effect promotes charge redistribution to achieve uniform Zn deposition. Accordingly, the ZP@Zn symmetric cell manifests excellent reversibility at an ultrahigh cumulative plating capacity of 4700 mAh cm(-2) and stable cycling at 80 % depth of discharge (DOD). The ZP@Zn//V6O13 pouch cell also reveals superior cycling stability with a high capacity of 326.6 mAh g(-1).

Automated summary

In this work, a versatile protective coating with excellent zincophilic and amphoteric features is constructed on the surface of Zn metal to solve the issues of short lifespan and low Coulombic efficiency in Zn metal batteries. This protective coating mitigates the hydrogen evolution reaction and promotes uniform zinc deposition, resulting in improved reversibility and cycling stability of the battery.