Surface-Preferred Crystal Plane for a Stable and Reversible Zinc Anode

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Aqueous zinc-ion batteries face limitations due to poor zinc anode stability and irreversibility.
• The influence of crystal plane orientation on zinc anode performance is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of surface-preferred (002) crystal planes on zinc anode performance.
• To elucidate the interfacial mechanisms governing zinc anode behavior.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis
• Post-mortem and operando experimental techniques
• Symmetric and full battery testing

Main Results:

• Zinc anodes with exposed (002) planes showed suppressed dendrite formation, minimal by-products, and reduced hydrogen evolution compared to (100) planes.
• The (002) oriented anodes achieved over 500 hours of cyclic life in symmetric cells with 97.71% average coulombic efficiency.
• Full batteries utilizing the (002) anode demonstrated over 2000 cycles with excellent stability and reversibility.

Conclusions:

• Exposing the (002) crystal plane is a promising strategy for developing stable and reversible zinc anodes.
• This research offers insights for designing high-performance metal anodes for large-scale energy storage applications.