Mitigating ion flux vortex enables reversible zinc electrodeposition

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Battery Technology

Background:

• Metal anodes offer high energy density but suffer from dendrite formation, limiting battery lifespan and safety.
• Existing imaging techniques cannot fully capture the internal structural evolution of metal deposition.
• Understanding ion flow dynamics is crucial for controlling metal deposition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the internal structural evolution of zinc deposition on LAPONITE-coated anodes.
• To elucidate the mechanism by which LAPONITE coating influences zinc deposition and dendrite suppression.
• To demonstrate the performance enhancement of zinc-based batteries with LAPONITE-coated anodes.

Main Methods:

• In-situ X-ray computed tomography (CT) for non-destructive visualization of Zn deposition.
• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to analyze ion flux.
• Fabrication and testing of Zn-MnO2 pouch cells with LAPONITE-coated anodes.

Main Results:

• LAPONITE coating guides uniform, dense, and vertically aligned Zn growth along the (100) plane.
• The coating effectively suppresses ionic vortex formation, mitigating dendrite growth.
• A 3.17-Ah Zn-MnO2 pouch cell demonstrated stable performance over 100 cycles.

Conclusions:

• LAPONITE coating provides a viable strategy for achieving stable and high-performance metal-anode batteries.
• Non-destructive in-situ imaging and CFD simulations are powerful tools for understanding battery degradation mechanisms.
• This approach offers a promising path toward scalable, safe, and long-lasting high-energy-density batteries.