Isotropic Amorphous Protective Layer with Uniform Interfacial Zincophobicity for Stable Zinc Anode

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) offer safety and cost benefits but are hindered by zinc anode dendrite growth and side reactions.
• Developing stable zinc anodes is crucial for advancing AZIB technology and enabling widespread adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a protective layer for zinc anodes that mitigates dendrite formation and improves electrochemical stability.
• To investigate the role of amorphous materials in modifying metal anode interfaces for enhanced performance.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a porous amorphous silicon nitride protective layer on a zinc anode.
• Electrochemical testing of the protected zinc anode in half-cell and full-cell configurations.
• Analysis of zinc stripping/plating behavior and long-term cycling stability.

Main Results:

• The amorphous silicon nitride layer demonstrated high zincophobicity, guiding uniform Zn2+ deposition and suppressing dendrites.
• Protected zinc anodes achieved a stable Coulombic efficiency of 98.8% over 710 cycles in a half-cell.
• Full cells exhibited excellent performance with 89.0% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 4 A g-1.

Conclusions:

• Porous amorphous silicon nitride effectively stabilizes zinc anodes in AZIBs by promoting uniform metal ion behavior.
• The study highlights the importance of isotropic metal affinity in amorphous protective layers for stable metal anodes.
• This approach provides a promising strategy for designing high-performance and durable aqueous zinc-ion batteries.