Interfacial engineering strategies for stable zinc metal anodes in aqueous batteries
摘要
Aqueous zinc-metal batteries (AZMBs), such as Zn-Mn batteries and Zn-V batteries, have emerged as promising candidates for grid-scale energy storage owing to their intrinsic safety, cost-effectiveness, and environmental sustainability. However, the practical deployment of AZMBs is severely hampered by interfacial instability at the Zn anode, which leads to detrimental dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution side reactions. This review comprehensively summarizes recent progress in interfacial engineering strategies for stabilizing Zn metal anodes, including substrate modifications (three-dimensional current collectors, heterogeneous zincophilic layers, and epitaxially matched substrates), surface coatings (inorganic, organic, and organic/inorganic composite layers), and electrolyte engineering. By homogenizing interfacial electric fields and ion fluxes, enhancing zincophilicity and lattice matching, and suppressing hydrogen evolution, these approaches significantly improve the cycling reversibility of Zn anodes. This review concludes with strategic design principles and future research directions for achieving highly reversible Zn anodes in next-generation energy storage systems.
Graphical abstract