Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 9, 2025
06:58
Zinc-Sponge Battery Electrodes that Suppress Dendrites
Published on: September 29, 2020
4.4K
How Does the Hydroxylated Carbon Chain Length in Polyol Electrolyte Additives Influence the Stability of Zn Anode?
Yong Yang1, Yanze Li1, Qizhen Zhu1
1State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Process and Technology for Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|August 28, 2025
Summary
Erythritol effectively regulates zinc anodes in aqueous zinc-ion batteries by forming a protective shield, enabling dendrite-free deposition and enhancing cycling stability. This research offers a new principle for designing advanced metal anode additives.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Science
- Energy Storage
Background:
- Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) offer a safe and cost-effective energy storage solution.
- Zinc anodes in AZIBs suffer from dendritic growth and parasitic reactions, limiting battery performance and lifespan.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of polyol additives with varying chain lengths in regulating zinc anode interfaces.
- To identify an optimal additive for stable and efficient zinc deposition in AZIBs.
Main Methods:
- Systematic study of six polyol additives with different hydroxylated carbon chain lengths.
- Experimental analysis including electrochemical testing and interfacial characterization.
- Computational calculations to understand additive-electrolyte interactions.
Main Results:
- Polyol chain length critically influences zinc deposition behavior.
- Erythritol, a short-to-medium chain polyol, balances interfacial protection and kinetic accessibility.
- Erythritol forms a monomolecular shield, promoting uniform zinc deposition and suppressing parasitic reactions.
- A 10 mM erythritol electrolyte achieved over 3400 hours of stable zinc anode cycling.
Conclusions:
- Erythritol is a highly effective electrolyte additive for stabilizing zinc anodes in AZIBs.
- The study establishes a principle for designing polyol-based additives for high-performance metal anodes.
- This work paves the way for safer and more durable aqueous zinc-ion batteries.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:17Ziegler–Natta Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview
3.4K
Ziegler–Natta polymerization is another form of addition or chain‐growth polymerization used for synthesizing linear polymers over branched polymers. The catalyst used for polymerization is the Ziegler–Natta catalyst, named after Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta, who developed it in 1953. This catalyst is an organometallic complex of titanium tetrachloride and triethyl aluminum, with the active form of the catalyst being an alkyl titanium compound. Using the Ziegler–Natta...
3.4K
03:02Standard Electrode Potentials
45.0K
On comparing the reactivity of silver and lead, it is observed that the two ionic species, Ag+ (aq) and Pb2+ (aq), show a difference in their redox reactivity towards copper: the silver ion undergoes spontaneous reduction, while the lead ion does not. This relative redox activity can be easily quantified in electrochemical cells by a property called cell potential. This property is commonly known as cell voltage in electrochemistry, and it is a measure of the energy which accompanies the charge...
45.0K
02:12Solvating Effects
7.6K
An understanding of the solvating effect helps rationalize the relation between solvation and acidity of the compound. In addition, this also explains the relative stability of conjugate bases for compounds with different pKa values. This lesson details, in-depth, the principle of solvating effects. The strength of an acid and the stability of its corresponding conjugate base are determined using pKa values. This observed relationship is a consequence of solvation, which is the interaction...
7.6K
04:01Factors Affecting Solubility
33.9K
Compared with pure water, the solubility of an ionic compound is less in aqueous solutions containing a common ion (one also produced by dissolution of the ionic compound). This is an example of a phenomenon known as the common ion effect, which is a consequence of the law of mass action that may be explained using Le Chȃtelier’s principle. Consider the dissolution of silver iodide:
33.9K
01:09Complexation Equilibria: Factors Influencing Stability of Complexes
470
In complexation reactions, metal cations are the electron pair acceptors, and the ligands are the electron pair donors. The stability of the metal complexes depends primarily on the complexing ability of the central metal ion and the nature of the ligands. Generally, the complexing ability of the metal ion depends on the size and charge of the ion. As the metal ion size increases, the stability of the metal complexes decreases, provided that the valency of the metal ion and the ligands remain...
470
01:19Ionic Strength: Effects on Chemical Equilibria
1.6K
The addition of an inert ionic compound increases the solubility of a sparingly soluble salt. For example, adding potassium nitrate to a saturated solution of calcium sulfate significantly enhances the solubility of calcium sulfate. Le Châtelier's principle cannot predict this shift in the equilibrium. Instead, this could be explained in terms of changes in the effective concentration of the ions in solution in the presence of added inert salt.
In this solution, the primary...
In this solution, the primary...
1.6K