Recently, Dr. Yao Lu from the School of Materials Science and Engineering of our university, in collaboration with Professor Pan Feng from Peking University and Professor Thomas Miller from University College London, has achieved significant research results in the field of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. This work is the first to propose the use of a metal alloy interface phase strategy to achieve in-situ and real-time protection of the zinc metal anode in aqueous zinc-ion batteries. The research was published in the top international journal Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. (https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202416047) entitled “Operando Evolution of a Hybrid Metallic Alloy Interphase for Reversible Aqueous Zinc Batteries” and was selected as a Hot Paper. The first author’s institution is Shanghai Institute of Technology, and Dr. Yao Lu from Shanghai Institute of Technology, Professor Pan Feng from Peking University, and Professor Thomas Miller from University College London are the co-corresponding authors of this paper.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIB) are widely regarded as the next generation of high-safety and long-life electrochemical energy storage systems with great development potential. However, AZIB has long-term problems such as zinc negative electrode corrosion, dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution, which will cause the coulomb efficiency and capacity attenuation of the battery, resulting in premature failure of AZIB batteries.

Lithium metal anode can spontaneously form a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) with the electrolyte, so it can protect the lithium metal negative electrode for a long time, but it is very difficult to form a layer of SEI similar to the lithium metal negative surface in situ on the surface of the zinc metal anode. How to form a uniform and dense SEI-like protective layer on the surface of zinc metal in situ, so that the zinc metal negative electrode can be protected in situ in real time, and play a role in inhibiting the growth of zinc dendrites, inhibiting hydrogen evolution and reducing side reactions, which is crucial to the development of water-based zinc ion batteries.

In this work, it is proposed for the first time to design an in-situ evolving interface phase of zinc negative metal alloy on the surface of zinc metal negative electrode. Although the protective layer is initially composed of metals Ag and In, this double heterogeneous metal protective layer will spontaneously transform into alloy interface phases including AgxZny and In during the early electrochemical cycle. The generated main phase AgZn3 will in turn induce zinc deposition along the (002) crystal face, while In will reduce the migration energy barrier of zinc ions in the protective layer, so as to realize the preferred orientation growth of zinc ions in the protective layer body phase and avoid surface deposition, and finally achieve dendrite-free zinc metal negative electrode. This work provides a new technique for further improving the cycle stability of water-based zinc-ion batteries.

Source: School of Materials Science and Engineering