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Updated: Aug 29, 2025
Zinc-Sponge Battery Electrodes that Suppress Dendrites
Published on: September 29, 2020
Regulating Surface Reaction Kinetics through Ligand Field Effects for Fast and Reversible Aqueous Zinc Batteries
Bo Liu1, Cong Wei1, Zixuan Zhu1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
Abstract:
Designing water-deficient solvation sheath of Zn2+ by ligand substitution is a widely used strategy to protect Zn metal anode, yet the intrinsic tradeoff between Zn nucleation/dissolution kinetics and the side hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains a huge challenge. Herein, we find boric acid (BA) with moderate ligand field interaction can partially replace H2 O molecules in the solvation sheath of Zn2+ , forming a stable water-deficient solvation sheath. It enables fast Zn nucleation/dissolution kinetics and substantially suppressed HER. Crucially, by systematically comparing the ligand field strength and solvation energies between BA and the ever-reported electrolyte additives, we also find that the solvation energy has a strong correlation with Zn nucleation/dissolution kinetics and HER inhibition ability, displaying a classic volcano behavior. The modulation map could provide valuable insights for solvation sheath design of zinc batteries and beyond.
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