In Situ Construction of a Dual-Component Hybrid Interfacial Layer for Stabilizing Zinc Anodes in Aqueous Zn-Ion...

Interfacial instability, particularly uncontrollable zinc deposition and water induced side reactions, severely compromises the cycling stability and lifespan of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), thereby hindering their commercialization. Herein, an in situ grown bilayer gradient hydrophobic artificial interface (ZFPB) is designed to achieve dendrite-free zinc deposition. In detail, the ion-conductive but electronically insulating ZnF₂ outer layer facilitates the rapid migration of Zn²⁺. Concurrently, the conductive Pb inner layer forms strong interactions with Zn²⁺ through its valence electrons, effectively lowering the Zn²⁺ adsorption energy and facilitating uniform Zn deposition. Moreover, the hydrophobic nature of ZFPB effectively suppresses interfacial water-induced side reactions and mitigates anode corrosion. Benefiting from these synergistic advantages, the ZFPB//ZFPB symmetric cell exhibits a long cycle life of up to 2500 h at 5 mA cm^-2/1 mAh cm^-2. The ZFPB//MnO₂ full cell retains 92.0% of its specific capacity after 2000 cycles. More encouragingly, it also delivers excellent electrochemical performance with a long cycling life of 700 cycles under a low N/P ratio of 1.8. This work offers valuable insights for the industrial advancement of AZIBs.