Zinc-Bismuth Binary Alloy Enabling High-Performance Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries

Reconfiguration of zinc anodes efficiently mitigates dendrite formation and undesirable side reactions, thus favoring the long-term cycling performance of aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs). This study synthesizes a Zn@Bi alloy anode (Zn@Bi) using the fusion method, and find that the anode surfaces synthesized using this method have an extremely high percentage of Zn(002) crystalline surfaces. Experimental results indicate that the addition of bismuth inhibits the hydrogen evolution reaction and corrosion of zinc anodes. The finite-element simulation results indicate that Zn@Bi can effectively achieve a uniform anodic electric field, thereby regulating the homogeneous depositions of zinc ions and reducing the production of Zn dendrite. Theoretical calculations reveal that the incorporation of Bi favors the anode structure stabilization and higher adsorption energy of Zn@Bi corresponds to better Zn deposition kinetics. The Zn@Bi//Zn@Bi symmetric cell demonstrates an extended cycle life of 1000 h. Furthermore, when pairing Zn@Bi with an alpha-MnO2 cathode to construct a Zn@Bi//MnO2 cell, a specific capacity of 119.3 mAh g-1 is maintained even after 1700 cycles at 1.2 A g-1. This study sheds light on the development of dendrite-free anodes for advanced AZIBs. A Zn@Bi alloy anode is fabricated using a fusion method, which possesses a distinctive (002) surface orientation for achieving the uniform deposition of zinc. Results validate that the inclusion of Bi contributes to the even distribution of electric field and enhances the adsorption energy of zinc, therefore suppressing dendrite formation and mitigating undesirable side effects.image

Automated summary

This study synthesizes a Zn@Bi alloy anode and explores its effect on mitigating dendrite formation in aqueous zinc ion batteries. The addition of bismuth inhibits hydrogen evolution reaction and corrosion of zinc anodes. The use of Zn@Bi anodes leads to uniform zinc deposition and extended cycling performance in AZIBs.