The practical application of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) is limited by serious side reactions, such as the hydrogen evolution reaction and Zn dendrite growth. Here, the study proposes a novel adoption of a biodegradable electrolyte additive, γ-Valerolactone (GVL), with only 1 vol.% addition (GVL-to-H2O volume ratio) to enable a stable Zn metal anode. The combination of experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations verifies that the green GVL additive can competitively engage the solvated structure of Zn2+ via replacing a H2O molecule from [Zn(H2O)6]2+, which can efficiently reduce the reactivity of water and inhibit the subsequent side reactions. Additionally, GVL molecules are preferentially adsorbed on the surface of Zn to regulate the uniform Zn deposition and suppress the Zn dendrite growth. Consequently, the Zn anode exhibits boosted stability with ultralong cycle lifespan (over 3500 h) and high reversibility with 99.69% Coulombic efficiency. The Zn||MnO2 ful
Abstract
Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are regarded as a promising candidate for next-generation energy storage systems due to their high safety, resource availability, and environmental friendliness. Nevertheless, the instability of the Zn metal anode has impeded ZIBs from being reliably deployed in their proposed applications. Specifically, dendrite formation and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on the Zn surface significantly compromise the Coulombic efficiency and cycling stability of ZIBs. In recent years, increasing efforts have been devoted to overcoming these obstacles by electrode structure design, interface modification, and electrolyte/separator optimization. To achieve an insightful and comprehensive understanding of these strategies, it is worth analyzing and categorizing them according to their intrinsic mechanisms. Considering this, an overview of the anodic stabilization strategies is provided. First, the fundamentals of the Zn metal anode are introduced, and the as