Interface-Engineered Zincophilic-Zincophobic Bilayer Architecture for Stable Aqueous Zinc Metal Anodes

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are safe and cost-effective for grid-scale energy storage.
• Challenges include zinc dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) at the anode, limiting practical use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a dual-interfacial layer for AZIB anodes to suppress dendrites and HER.
• To enhance Zn2+ nucleation and deposition for improved battery performance and stability.

Main Methods:

• Engineered a dual-interfacial layer (BN@Sn@Zn) combining zincophilic Sn and zincophobic boron nitride (BN).
• Investigated the layer's effect on Zn2+ nucleation, deposition, and HER suppression.
• Tested the modified anode in full AZIB cells with MnO2 cathodes.

Main Results:

• The BN@Sn@Zn interface effectively regulated Zn2+ deposition, suppressing dendrite formation.
• The layer inhibited HER due to boron nitride's high hydrogen adsorption energy.
• The modified anode achieved a cycling lifespan of 1050 h at 6 mA cm-2, 6 mAh cm-2.
• Full cells retained 75 mAh g-1 after 2000 cycles.

Conclusions:

• The dual-functional interface strategy successfully addresses key challenges in AZIB anode design.
• This approach significantly improves the stability and cycling performance of AZIBs.
• The engineered interface advances the development of high-performance AZIBs for sustainable energy storage.