Suppressing Hydrogen Evolution and Dendrite Formation on a Zn Anode by Coating InO with Tailored Affinity to H* and Zn.

To suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and dendrite formation on the Zn anode in aqueous Zn-ion batteries, a submicrometer InO coating on the Zn anode (referred to as Zn@InO) was constructed via magnetron sputtering. Density functional theory (DFT) and experimental data show that the InO coating suppresses the HER because of its weaker interactions with H* compared with Zn, inhibiting the Volmer step. At the same time, the InO coating exhibits a moderate affinity for Zn*, higher than that on Zn but lower than that at the InO-Zn interface, thus facilitating the desolvation of the hydrated Zn ions while promoting its deposition on the Zn substrate beneath the InO coating.