Zincophilic Design for Highly Stable and Dendrite-Free Zinc Metal Anodes in Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries represent a highly promising next-generation electrochemical energy storage system because of their safety, environmental friendliness, resource abundance, and simple assembly conditions. However, the formation and growth of zinc dendrites on zinc anode seriously hinder the practical application of zinc-ion batteries. Zincophilic design, which enables the uniform zinc nucleation/deposition, offers an effective solution to achieve dendrite-free zinc anodes. Despite significant progress in the field of zincophilic design, the research in this field currently lacks clear analysis and guidance. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current research status of zincophilic design and the mechanism for dendrite-free zinc anode from three aspects: construction of zinc anode zincophilic layers, addition of zincophilic additives in electrolyte, and construction of 3D zincophilic host. Moreover, the challenges facing the industrialization and commercialization of zinc-ion batteries in the further are briefly discussed.