Abstract

Highlights

A triple functional additive with a trace amount (1 mM) was proposed to protect Zn anodes.

The additive lowers the hydrogen evolution reaction potential, encourages the formation of an in situ solid electrolyte interphase and shields the “tip effect”

Dendrite free Zn deposition and highly reversible Zn plating/stripping behaviors were realized by the triple protections

Although their cost-effectiveness and intrinsic safety, aqueous zinc-ion batteries suffer from notorious side reactions including hydrogen evolution reaction, Zn corrosion and passivation, and Zn dendrite formation on the anode. Despite numerous strategies to alleviate these side reactions have been demonstrated, they can only provide limited performance improvement from a single aspect. Herein, a triple-functional additive with trace amounts, ammonium hydroxide, was demonstrated to comprehensively protect zinc anodes. The results show that the shift of electrolyte pH from 4.1 to 5.2 lowers the HER potential and encourages the in situ formation of a uniform ZHS-based solid electrolyte interphase on Zn anodes. Moreover, cationic NH4+ can preferentially adsorb on the Zn anode surface to shield the “tip effect” and homogenize the electric field. Benefitting from this comprehensive protection, dendrite-free Zn deposition and highly reversible Zn plating/stripping behaviors were realized. Besides, improved electrochemical performances can also be achieved in Zn//MnO2 full cells by taking the advantages of this triple-functional additive. This work provides a new strategy for stabilizing Zn anodes from a comprehensive perspective.

Details

Title
Trace Amounts of Triple-Functional Additives Enable Reversible Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries from a Comprehensive Perspective
Author
Chen, Ruwei 1 ; Zhang, Wei 2 ; Huang, Quanbo 3 ; Guan, Chaohong 4 ; Zong, Wei 2 ; Dai, Yuhang 2 ; Du, Zijuan 2 ; Zhang, Zhenyu 2 ; Li, Jianwei 2 ; Guo, Fei 2 ; Gao, Xuan 2 ; Dong, Haobo 2 ; Zhu, Jiexin 2 ; Wang, Xiaohui 3 ; He, Guanjie 2 

 University College London, Electrochemical Innovation Lab, Department of Chemical Engineering, London, UK (GRID:grid.83440.3b) (ISNI:0000000121901201); South China University of Technology, State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China (GRID:grid.79703.3a) (ISNI:0000 0004 1764 3838) 
 University College London, Electrochemical Innovation Lab, Department of Chemical Engineering, London, UK (GRID:grid.83440.3b) (ISNI:0000000121901201) 
 South China University of Technology, State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China (GRID:grid.79703.3a) (ISNI:0000 0004 1764 3838) 
 Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China (GRID:grid.16821.3c) (ISNI:0000 0004 0368 8293) 
Pages
81
Publication year
2023
Publication date
Dec 2023
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
ISSN
23116706
e-ISSN
21505551
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2889585374
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.