Alloying-Induced (002) Preferred Orientation Enabling Stable Zinc Anode

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) offer safe and cost-effective large-scale energy storage.
• Zn metal anodes suffer from structural instability due to Zn stripping/plating, leading to dendrite growth and capacity fade.
• Maintaining preferential Zn (002) orientation is crucial for anode stability but challenging during deep cycling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a Zn metal anode with stabilized (002) preferential orientation for enhanced durability in AZMBs.
• To investigate the role of indium (In) in regulating Zn deposition and preserving crystallographic texture.
• To improve the Coulombic efficiency and long-term cycling stability of Zn anodes.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a Zn-In alloy anode.
• Electrochemical cycling in symmetric and full cells.
• Analysis of Zn plating/stripping behavior and surface morphology.
• Investigation of crystallographic texture evolution during cycling.

Main Results:

• The Zn-In anode exhibits a stabilized Zn (002) preferential orientation.
• Indium dynamically regulates Zn plating, promoting uniform deposition and suppressing dendrite formation.
• The anode achieves high Coulombic efficiency (99.91% over 10,000 cycles) and long-term stability (>3200 hours).
• Full cells demonstrate high capacity and stable cycling performance.

Conclusions:

• The Zn-In alloy anode provides a synergistic strategy for durable, high-utilization Zn metal anodes.
• Stabilized (002) orientation and indium's regulatory effect are key to enhanced battery performance.
• This approach advances the development of practical and reliable aqueous zinc batteries.