Zincophilic Nanowire Array With Hydrophobic Iodine Elimination Layer for Ultrastable Zinc-Iodine Battery

Among the ultrafast rechargeable batteries, aqueous zinc-iodine (Zn-I₂) batteries receive renewed interest for their cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness and efficient double electron transfer mechanism. However, the shuttle corrosion of polyiodide and the dendrite problem of zinc metal anodes lead to rapid battery failure. Here, we first introduced a zincophilic nanowire array with hydrophobic iodine elimination effect to stabilize the zinc anode for a stable dendrite-free and corrosion-free zinc-iodine battery. The in situ constructed composite nanowire array provides an ordered and continuous zincophilic channel to induce stable non dendritic zinc deposition and possesses a hydrophobic iodine elimination effect, preventing simultaneous electrolyte and polyiodide corrosion. As a result, the zinc-iodine full cell has achieved the ultralong 350000 cycles at a high specific current of 50C, with a minimal capacity attenuation of 0.00011% per cycle. Our work offers a reference strategy for achieving ultrafast-charging Zn-I₂ batteries with maximum chemical stability.