A self-regulated interface enabled by trivalent gadolinium ions toward highly reversible zinc metal anodes.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have become an ideal candidate for large-scale energy storage systems owing to their inherent safety and highly competitive capacity. However, severe dendrite growth and side reactions on the surface of zinc metal anodes lead to quick performance deterioration, seriously impeding the commercialization of AZIBs. In this work, a self-regulated zinc metal/electrolyte interface is constructed to solve these problems by incorporating the trivalent Gd additive with a lower effective reduction potential into the aqueous ZnSO electrolyte.

Nitrate Radical Induced "Two in One" Interface Engineering toward High Reversibility of Zn Metal Anode.

Advanced interfacial engineering performs a forceful modulation effect on Zn plating/stripping with simultaneous inhibition of hydrogen evolution reaction, chemical corrosion, and dendrite growth, which is responsible for high reversibility of Zn anode. Herein, a "two in one" interface engineering is developed to improve the reversibility of Zn anode, in which multi-functional Zn (NO ) (OH) ·2H O layer and preferential Zn (002) texture are constructed simultaneously. Due to nucleophilicity to Zn arising from electronegativity, the layer can accelerate the desolvation process of [Zn (H O) ] and transfer kinetics of Zn ions, leading to uniform nucleation and effective inhibition of water-induced side reactions.

Water-Processable and Multiscale-Designed Vanadium Oxide Cathodes with Predominant Zn Intercalation Pseudocapacitance toward High Gravimetric/Areal/Volumetric Capacity.

Layered vanadium oxides have great potential as cathode materials for recently surged aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). However, achieving high energy/power densities simultaneously is challenging, and side reactions related to more frequently than disclosed Zn /proton co-insertion mechanism aggravate stability concerns. Herein, an engineered binder-free cathode configuration based on water-processable and high packing-density sheet-shaped composites of carbon nanotubes network, surface poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) bridging coating, and ultrasmall PEDOT-intercalated V O nanoflakes is developed, and therein, large pseudocapacitance via predominant (≈91%) Zn intercalation is revealed.