Scholarlink

<p>Aqueous zinc-metal batteries are promising candidates for sustainable energy storage; but their practical viability is severely limited by poor cryogenic performance caused by kinetic sluggishness and interfacial instability. Here we show a strategy for low-temperature ZMBs based on tailoring the Zn<sup>2+</sup> solvation environment by engineering the dielectric constant (ε). By incorporating ethyl acetate, a low-ε co-solvent, into a Zn(ClO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2</sub> electrolyte, we strategically weaken water’s hydrogen-bond network and increase cation-anion pairing. This modified solvation structure accelerates Zn<sup>2</sup>⁺ transport and desolvation, promotes the formation of a protective solid electrolyte interphase rich in organic and inorganic components, and inhibits parasitic hydrogen evolution. Consequently, the optimized electrolyte enhances Zn plating/stripping stability, with Zn||Zn cells operating at 0.2 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> for 10 months (25 °C) and 1 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> for 4,000 hours (−50 °C), and Zn||PANI batteries at 1 A g<sup>−1</sup> sustaining 10,000 cycles with negligible degradation (−50 °C). This work highlights the critical importance of dielectric constant engineering in electrolyte design and paves the way for high-performance, low-temperature aqueous batteries.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Solvation chemistry tailored via dielectric constant engineering for stable low-temperature aqueous zinc batteries

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月25日

查看全文
  • Xiaoqing Zhu,
  • Zilong Wang,
  • Tao Zhang,
  • Jia Zhang,
  • Aimin Ge,
  • Yunteng Cao,
  • Rui Gao,
  • Zhipeng Yu,
  • Yuhao Wang,
  • Shengjun Xu,
  • Ho Mei Law,
  • Fei Wang,
  • Francesco Ciucci,
  • Guiyin Xu,
  • Meifang Zhu

摘要

Aqueous zinc-metal batteries are promising candidates for sustainable energy storage; but their practical viability is severely limited by poor cryogenic performance caused by kinetic sluggishness and interfacial instability. Here we show a strategy for low-temperature ZMBs based on tailoring the Zn2+ solvation environment by engineering the dielectric constant (ε). By incorporating ethyl acetate, a low-ε co-solvent, into a Zn(ClO4)2 electrolyte, we strategically weaken water’s hydrogen-bond network and increase cation-anion pairing. This modified solvation structure accelerates Zn2⁺ transport and desolvation, promotes the formation of a protective solid electrolyte interphase rich in organic and inorganic components, and inhibits parasitic hydrogen evolution. Consequently, the optimized electrolyte enhances Zn plating/stripping stability, with Zn||Zn cells operating at 0.2 mA cm−2 for 10 months (25 °C) and 1 mA cm−2 for 4,000 hours (−50 °C), and Zn||PANI batteries at 1 A g−1 sustaining 10,000 cycles with negligible degradation (−50 °C). This work highlights the critical importance of dielectric constant engineering in electrolyte design and paves the way for high-performance, low-temperature aqueous batteries.