A Cost-Effective Silica Fume Coating Layer for Stable Zn Metal Anodes

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising due to safety and cost advantages.
• Zinc anodes suffer from dendrite growth and corrosion, limiting battery performance.
• Developing stable AZIBs requires effective anode protection strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate silica fume as a protective coating for zinc anodes in AZIBs.
• To evaluate the impact of silica fume coating on zinc deposition and battery cycling stability.
• To leverage silica fume's properties for improved AZIB performance.

Main Methods:

• Coating zinc anodes with silica fume (SF@Zn).
• Fabricating and testing symmetrical zinc cells.
• Assembling and cycling full AZIB cells with SF@Zn anodes.
• Analyzing electrochemical performance, including cycling life and capacity retention.

Main Results:

• Silica fume coating improved electrolyte wettability and suppressed zinc dendrite formation.
• Symmetrical cells demonstrated a cycle life of 1800 hours at 0.5 mA·cm^-2.
• Full cells achieved an initial capacity of 246.2 mAh·g^-1 at 1 mA·cm^-2 and retained 100.4 mAh·g^-1 after 1800 cycles.

Conclusions:

• Silica fume is an effective, low-cost coating material for stabilizing zinc anodes in AZIBs.
• The SF@Zn anode enhances cycling stability and capacity retention, addressing key AZIB limitations.
• This work presents a viable strategy for developing high-performance and durable aqueous zinc-ion batteries.