Untangling the Role of Capping Agents in Manipulating Electrochemical Behaviors Toward Practical Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Long-standing challenges including notorious side reactions at the Zn anode, low Zn anode utilization, and rapid cathode degradation at low current densities hinder the advancement of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). Inspired by the critical role of capping agents in nanomaterials synthesis and bulk crystal growth, a series of capping agents are employed to demonstrate their applicability in AZIBs. Here, it is shown that the preferential adsorption of capping agents on different Zn crystal planes, coordination between capping agents and Zn ions, and interactions with metal oxide cathodes enable preferred Zn (002) deposition, water-deficient Zn ion solvation structure, and a dynamic cathode-electrolyte interface.

Operando Evolution of a Hybrid Metallic Alloy Interphase for Reversible Aqueous Zinc Batteries.

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs) are widely acknowledged as viable future energy storage solutions, particularly for low-cost stationary applications. However, the interfacial instability of zinc anodes represents a major challenge to the commercial potential of Zn-ion systems, promoting an array of side reactions including spontaneous corrosion, hydrogen evolution, and dendrite growth that destabilize cell performance, lower Coulombic efficiency and ultimately lead to early cell failure. While other commercially relevant battery systems benefit from a spontaneously forming solid electrolyte interphase, no such layer forms in AZIBs.

Stimulating the Potential of Zn Anodes to Operate in Low pH and Harsh Environments forHighly Sustainable Zn Batteries.

Compared to near-neutral electrolytes (pH=3-6), Zn||Mn batteries in acidic environments can achieve voltages up to ~2 V. However, high proton concentrations raise concerns about Zn anode stability. Current strategies for inhibiting hydrogen evolution corrosion (HEC) on the anode in Zn-based batteries mainly focus on the near-neutral electrolytes.

Modulating Ion Behavior by Functional Nanodiamond Modified Separator for High-Rate Durable Aqueous Zinc-Ion Battery.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have garnered widespread attention due to their promising development and application prospects. However, progress of AZIBs has been hindered by zinc (Zn) dendrites and side reactions at the electrode-electrolyte interface (EEI). In particular, the large and uneven pores of commercial glass fiber (GF) separators lead to nonuniform Zn transport, which causes side reactions.

NaV(PO) cathode materials for advanced sodium-ion batteries: Modification strategies and density functional theory calculations.

With the rapid development of electric vehicles and smart grids, the demands for energy supply systems such as secondary batteries are increasing exponentially. Despite the world-renowned achievements in portable devices, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have struggled to meet the demands due to the constraints of total lithium resources. As the most promising alternative to LIBs, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are generating widespread research enthusiasm around the world.

Polyethylene Glycol-Protected Zinc Microwall Arrays for Stable Zinc Anodes.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries promise good commercial application prospects due to their environmental benignity and easy assembly under atmospheric conditions, positioning them as a viable alternative to lithium-ion batteries. However, some inherent issues, such as chaotic zinc dendrite growth and inevitable side reactions, challenge the commercialization progress. In this work, we imprint highly ordered zinc microwall arrays to regulate the electric field toward uniform Zn deposition.

Highly Reversible Zn Anode Design Through Oriented ZnO(002) Facets.

The practical implementation of aqueous Zn-ion batteries presents formidable hurdles, including uncontrolled dendrite growth, water-induced side reactions, suboptimal Zn metal utilization, and intricate Zn anode manufacturing. Here, large-scale construction of a highly oriented ZnO(002) lattice plane on Zn anode (ZnO(002)@Zn) with thermodynamic inertia and kinetic zincophilicity is designed to address such problems. Both theoretical calculations and experiment results elucidate that the ZnO(002)@Zn possesses high Zn chemical affinity, hydrogen evolution reaction suppression, and dendrite-free deposition ability due to the abundant lattice oxygen species in ZnO(002) and its low lattice mismatch with Zn(002).

Dynamical Janus Interface Design for Reversible and Fast-Charging Zinc-Iodine Battery under Extreme Operating Conditions.

Aqueous zinc (Zn) iodine (I) batteries have emerged as viable alternatives to conventional metal-ion batteries. However, undesirable Zn deposition and irreversible iodine conversion during cycling have impeded their progress. To overcome these concerns, we report a dynamical interface design by cation chemistry that improves the reversibility of Zn deposition and four-electron iodine conversion.

Noncovalent Interactions-Driven Self-Assembly of Polyanionic Additive for Long Anti-Calendar Aging and High-Rate Zinc Metal Batteries.

Zinc anodes of zinc metal batteries suffer from unsatisfactory plating/striping reversibility due to interfacial parasitic reactions and poor Zn mass transfer kinetics. Herein, methoxy polyethylene glycol-phosphate (mPEG-P) is introduced as an electrolyte additive to achieve long anti-calendar aging and high-rate capabilities. The polyanionic of mPEG-P self-assembles via noncovalent-interactions on electrode surface to form polyether-based cation channels and in situ organic-inorganic hybrid solid electrolyte interface layer, which ensure rapid Zn mass transfer and suppresses interfacial parasitic reactions, realizing outstanding cycling/calendar aging stability.

Regulating Reconstruction-Engineered Active Sites for Accelerated Electrocatalytic Conversion of Urea.

Reconstruction-engineered electrocatalysts with enriched high active Ni species for urea oxidation reaction (UOR) have recently become promising candidates for energy conversion. However, to inhibit the over-oxidation of urea brought by the high valence state of Ni, tremendous efforts are devoted to obtaining low-value products of nitrogen gas to avoid toxic nitrite formation, undesirably causing inefficient utilization of the nitrogen cycle. Herein, we proposed a mediation engineering strategy to significantly boost high-value nitrite formation to help close a loop for the employment of a nitrogen economy.

Using MXene as a Chemically Induced Initiator to Construct High-Performance Cathodes for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

MXene usually exhibits weak pseudo-capacitance behavior in aqueous zinc-ion batteries, which cannot provide sufficient reversible capacity, resulting in the decline of overall capacity when used as the cathode materials. Taking inspiration from polymer electrolyte engineering, we have conceptualized an in situ induced growth strategy based on MXene materials. Herein, 5.

Suppressed Dissolution of Fluorine-Rich SEI Enables Highly Reversible Zinc Metal Anode for Stable Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

The instability of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) is a critical challenge for the zinc metal anodes, leading to an erratic electrode/electrolyte interface and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), ultimately resulting in anode failure. This study uncovers that the fluorine species dissolution is the root cause of SEI instability. To effectively suppress the F dissolution, an introduction of a low-polarity molecule, 1,4-thioxane (TX), is proposed, which reinforces the stability of the fluorine-rich SEI.

In-Situ Ultrafast Construction of Zinc Tungstate Interface Layer for Highly Reversible Zinc Anodes.

Constructing artificial solid electrolyte interface on the Zn anode surface is recognized as an appealing method to inhibit zinc dendrites and side reactions, whereas the current techniques are complex and time-consuming. Here, a robust and zincophilic zinc tungstate (ZnWO) layer has been in situ constructed on the Zn anode surface (denoted as ZWO@Zn) by an ultrafast chemical solution reaction. Comprehensive characterizations and theoretical calculations demonstrate that the ZWO layer can effectively modulate the interfacial electric field distribution and promote the Zn uniform diffusion, thus facilitating the uniform Zn nucleation and suppressing zinc dendrites.

Freestanding Ammonium Vanadate Composite Cathodes with Lattice Self-Regulation and Ion Exchange for Long-Lasting Ca-Ion Batteries.

Calcium-ion batteries (CIBs) have emerged as a promising alternative for electrochemical energy storage. The lack of high-performance cathode materials severely limits the development of CIBs. Vanadium oxides are particularly attractive as cathode materials for CIBs, and preinsertion chemistry is often used to improve their calcium storage performance.

Induced Anionic Functional Group Orientation-Assisted Stable Electrode-Electrolyte Interphases for Highly Reversible Zinc Anodes.

Dendrite growth and other side-reaction problems of zinc anodes in aqueous zinc-ion batteries heavily affect their cycling lifespan and Coulombic efficiency, which can be effectively alleviated by the application of polymer-based functional protection layer on the anode. However, the utilization rate of functional groups is difficult to improve without destroying the polymer chain. Here, a simple and well-established strategy is proposed by controlling the orientation of functional groups (─SOH) to assist the optimization of zinc anodes.

Rational Design of an In-Situ Polymer-Inorganic Hybrid Solid Electrolyte Interphase for Realising Stable Zn Metal Anode under Harsh Conditions.

The in-depth understanding of the composition-property-performance relationship of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is the basis of developing a reliable SEI to stablize the Zn anode-electrolyte interface, but it remains unclear in rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries. Herein, a well-designed electrolyte based on 2 M Zn(CFSO)-0.2 M acrylamide-0.

Rational Design of Organic Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen and Oxygen Electrocatalytic Applications.

Efficient electrocatalysts are pivotal for advancing green energy conversion technologies. Organic electrocatalysts, as cost-effective alternatives to noble-metal benchmarks, have garnered attention. However, the understanding of the relationships between their properties and electrocatalytic activities remains ambiguous.

Langmuir-Blodgett Film Formed by Amphiphilic Molecules for Facile and Rapid Construction of Zinc-Iodine Cell.

Zinc-iodine batteries (ZIBs) are promising candidates for ecofriendly, safe, and low-cost energy storage systems, but polyiodide shuttling and the complex cathode fabrication procedures have severely hindered their broader commercial usage. Herein, a protocol is developed using phospholipid-like oleylamine molecules for scalable production of Langmuir-Blodgett films, which allows the facile preparation of ZIB cathodes in less than 1 min. The resulting inhomogeneous cathode allows for the continuous conversion of iodine.

Integrated energy storage and CO conversion using an aqueous battery with tamed asymmetric reactions.

Developing a CO-utilization and energy-storage integrated system possesses great advantages for carbon- and energy-intensive industries. Efforts have been made to developing the Zn-CO batteries, but access to long cycling life and low charging voltage remains a grand challenge. Here we unambiguously show such inefficiencies originate from the high-barrier oxygen evolution reaction on charge, and by recharging the battery via oxidation of reducing molecules, Faradaic efficiency-enhanced CO reduction and low-overpotential battery regeneration can be simultaneously achieved.

Industrial Waste Derived Separators for Zn-Ion Batteries Achieve Homogeneous Zn(002) Deposition Through Low Chemical Affinity Effects.

Designing a cost-effective and multifunctional separator that ensures dendrite-free and stable Zn metal anode remains a significant challenge. Herein, a multifunctional cellulose-based separator is presented consisting of industrial waste-fly ash particles and cellulose nanofiber using a facile solution-coating method. The resulting fly ash-cellulose (FACNF) separators enable a high ion conductivity (5.

Inhibition of Vanadium Cathodes Dissolution in Aqueous Zn-Ion Batteries.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have experienced a rapid surge in popularity, as evident from the extensive research with over 30 000 articles published in the past 5 years. Previous studies on AZIBs have showcased impressive long-cycle stability at high current densities, achieving thousands or tens of thousands of cycles. However, the practical stability of AZIBs at low current densities (<1C) is restricted to merely 50-100 cycles due to intensified cathode dissolution.