Simultaneously Tailoring Zinc Deposition and Solvation Structure by Electrolyte Additive.

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) offer safety and cost benefits but suffer from dendrite growth and anode side reactions.
• These issues lead to rapid battery failure, limiting the practical application of AZIBs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the electrochemical performance and stability of AZIBs.
• To investigate the dual-functional role of sodium gluconate as an electrolyte additive.

Main Methods:

• Employing sodium gluconate as a dual-functional electrolyte additive in AZIBs.
• Analyzing the adsorption of gluconate anions on the Zn anode surface.
• Investigating the coordination of gluconate anions with Zn2+ ions.
• Conducting cycling tests on Zn||Zn symmetric batteries and NH4V4O10||Zn full batteries.

Main Results:

• Gluconate anions suppress dendrite growth and H2 evolution by preferential adsorption on the Zn anode.
• Coordination with Zn2+ inhibits side reactions and water-induced corrosion.
• Zn||Zn symmetric batteries show >3000 h stability at 1 mA cm-2 and 600 h at 10 mA cm-2.
• NH4V4O10||Zn full batteries achieve 193 mAh g-1 capacity after 1000 cycles at 2 A g-1.

Conclusions:

• Sodium gluconate acts as a dual-functional additive, improving Zn anode stability and AZIB performance.
• The interface chemistry modulation strategy using sodium gluconate shows significant potential for commercializing AZIBs.