Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Zinc-Sponge Battery Electrodes that Suppress Dendrites
Published on: September 29, 2020
Unveiling the Synergistic Effect of Ferroelectric Polarization and Domain Configuration for Reversible Zinc Metal
Tao Chen1,2, Fei Huang3, Yinan Wang4
1School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China.
Abstract:
The tendency of zinc (Zn) anodes to form uncontrolled Zn electrodeposits and the occurrence of side-reactions at Zn-electrolyte interfaces are a fundamental barrier hampering broad applications of aqueous rechargeable Zn-based batteries. Herein, a ferroelectric domain-mediated strategy is proposed to manipulate the Zn plating behavior and achieve controllable Zn growth orientation by coating Zn foil with a ferroelectric tetragonal KTN (t-KTN) layer. The ferroelectric domain of t-KTN single crystals exhibits periodic distribution of upward and downward polarizations, corresponding to alternating positively and negatively charged surfaces. The charged ferroelectric surfaces can manipulate the transfer kinetics of Zn ions and the concentration distribution of anions via the interplay between ferroelectric dipoles and adsorbed ions. With the synergistic effect of the ferroelectric polarization and domain configurations, the well-aligned interlamellar arrays composed of electrodeposited Zn are formed in the initial deposition process, which enable selective deposition within interlamellar arrays and eliminate the dendrite growth during the following plating process. As a result, the t-KTN layer-modified Zn anode enables reversible Zn plating/stripping with low voltage hysteresis for over 1200 h at 1 mA cm-2 in symmetric cells, and the assembled full cell exhibits a significantly enhanced cycling stability of over 5500 cycles at 5 A g-1 .
More Related Videos
14:16Fabrication of Schottky Diodes on Zn-polar BeMgZnO/ZnO Heterostructure Grown by Plasma-assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy
Published on: October 23, 2018
08:06Merging Ion Concentration Polarization between Juxtaposed Ion Exchange Membranes to Block the Propagation of the Polarization Zone
Published on: February 23, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Ferromagnetism
Standard Electrode Potentials
Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor
Potential Due to a Polarized Object
Induced Electric Dipoles
Since the absolute value of potential energy holds no physical meaning, its zero value can be chosen as per...
Biasing of Metal-Semiconductor Junctions
In Schottky junctions, where the semiconductor is n-type, applying a positive voltage to the metal relative to the semiconductor reduces its Fermi...