A biomimetic nucleoside additive for Zn(101) texturing toward ultra-stable zinc metal batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) offer high theoretical capacity, intrinsic safety, and cost-effectiveness, yet their practical deployment is hindered by anisotropic zinc deposition and dendrite formation arising from kinetic disparities among different crystallographic planes. In this work, we demonstrate that uridine (UR), an organic molecule bearing multiple carbonyl and hydroxyl functional groups, selectively adsorbs onto the Zn(101) crystal plane via coordination through its oxygen atoms, forming a dynamic protective interfacial layer. Electrochemical characterization reveals that the Zn||Zn symmetrical cell achieves an ultra-long lifespan exceeding 3500 h at 0.5 mA cm^-2 and 0.5 mAh cm^-2, while Zn//Cu half-cell maintains a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.41% over 1800 cycles at 1 mA cm^-2 and 1 mAh cm^-2. Furthermore, full-cell evaluations confirm the broad applicability of UR additives. The Zn//V₆O₁₃ cell retains 93.71% of its initial capacity after 3000 cycles at 10 A g^-1, and the Zn//AC@I₂ cell maintains 85.71% capacity retention after 40,000 cycles at 50C. These findings highlight the efficacy of UR in guiding crystal-plane-selective zinc deposition and demonstrate its potential as a universal additive strategy for achieving long-term stability in AZIBs.