Polymer Anode Coatings for Aqueous Zinc-ion Batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their high specific capacity, excellent safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, zinc anodes are prone to dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution reactions during the charge-discharge process, both of which severely impair the cycling stability and service life of the batteries. Given that polymers often exhibit good film-forming properties, flexibility, and high tunability, modifying zinc anodes via polymer coatings has emerged as an effective strategy to tackle the aforementioned challenges. This study systematically summarizes various types of polymer coatings that effectively stabilize zinc anodes, their mechanisms of action, and the correlation between structural design and electrochemical performance. Finally, this study discusses future challenges and prospects, and potential research directions pertaining to polymer coatings for zinc anodes.