Polyoxometalate solution passivation enabling dendrite-free and high-performance zinc anodes in aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Zinc metal anodes in aqueous electrolytes commonly face challenges such as dendrite growth and undesirable side reactions, limiting their application in the field of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) for energy storage. Drawing inspiration from industrial practices involving molybdenum salt solutions for metal modification, a polyoxometalate solution was formulated as a passivation solution for zinc anodes (referred to as MO solution). The formed passivation layer, referred to as the MO layer, exhibited a uniform and protective nature with a thickness of approximately 10 μm. The experimental results demonstrated that this passivation layer effectively suppressed side reactions at the zinc anode interface, as evidenced by lower corrosion current density for MO-Zn anodes. Additionally, the newly plated Zn was uniformly deposited atop the MO layer, ensuring coating integrity and inhibiting dendrite growth. As a result, under more demanding conditions such as a larger current of 8 mA cm, the MO-Zn anode displayed an extended cycle life exceeding 420 h in a symmetric battery, with an overpotential as low as 98 mV. This performance significantly outperformed that of commercially available pure Zn foils (with a cycle life of 60 h and an overpotential of 192 mV). Notably, a self-made Na-doped VO served as the cathode (referred to as NaVO), forming the MO-Zn//NaVO full battery. Even under high current test conditions of 2 A/g, the specific capacity of the MO-Zn//NaVO full battery remained substantial at 152.83 mAh/g after 1000 cycles. Furthermore, pouch batteries assembled with NaVO//MO-Zn successfully illuminated small bulbs. This study offers a viable optimization strategy for AZIB anodes and demonstrates the potential of using polyoxometalate solution for etching zinc anodes to inhibit dendrite growth and interfacial corrosion of zinc metal anodes.