Rationalized Electroepitaxy toward Scalable Single-Crystal Zn Anodes

Electroepitaxy is recognized as an effective approach to prepare metal electrodes with nearly complete reversibility. Nevertheless, large-scale manipulation is still not attainable owing to complicated interfacial chemistry. Here, the feasibility of extending Zn electroepitaxy toward the bulk phase over a mass-produced mono-oriented Cu(111) foil is demonstrated. Interfacial Cu-Zn alloy and turbulent electroosmosis are circumvented by adopting a potentiostatic electrodeposition protocol. The as-prepared Zn single-crystalline anode enables stable cycling of symmetric cells at a stringent current density of 50.0 mA cm(-2). The assembled full cell further sustaines a capacity retention of 95.7% at 5.0 A g(-1) for 1500 cycles, accompanied by a controllably low N/P ratio of 7.5. In addition to Zn, Ni electroepitaxy can be realized by using the same approach. This study may inspire rational exploration of the design of high-end metal electrodes.

Automated summary

The feasibility of extending Zn and Ni electroepitaxy toward the bulk phase on a mass-produced mono-oriented Cu(111) foil is demonstrated by circumventing the interfacial Cu-Zn alloy and turbulent electroosmosis. The prepared Zn single-crystalline anode enables stable cycling of symmetric cells and the method can also be applied to Ni electroepitaxy. This study inspires the rational exploration of high-end metal electrode design.