Constructing Acrylic-Bonded Stationary Phase as an Artificial SEI for Highly Stable Zn Metal Anodes

The development of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) has been severely restricted by metallic Zn anode issues, including Zn dendrites and uncontrollable side reactions. The direct interfacial modification of a Zn anode is a facile and effective strategy that has been favored by researchers. Herein, we propose an acrylic-bonded stationary layer as an artificial solid electrolyte interface (SEI) for the Zn anode to manipulate the Zn plating/stripping. The constructed modification layer is made of zinc acrylate cross-linked to form a three-dimensional (3D) porous structure, which can induce uniform deposition of zinc ions and balance the local electric field, thus achieving homogeneous nucleation and uniform Zn deposition. More importantly, this fabricated layer is chemically bonded to the zinc surface and can tolerate prolonged zinc deposition without shedding compared with conventional physical coatings. Consequently, the Zn/Zn symmetric cells, Zn/ Na0.92V2O5 center dot nH2O (NaVO) full cells, and Zn hybrid supercapacitors using this acrylic-bonded modified anode demonstrate greatly improved cycle performance.

Automated summary

A direct interfacial modification of a Zn anode was achieved by using an acrylic-bonded stationary layer, which led to uniform deposition of zinc ions, balanced local electric field, and improved cycle performance compared to conventional physical coatings.