Postpone Interfacial Impoverishment of Zn‐Ions via Neodymium‐Based Conversion Films for Stable Zn Metal Anodes

Authors: Yanfen Liu, Xiaotan Zhang, Shaaban M. Shaaban, Zhicheng Li, Dalal A. Alshammari, Xieyu Xu, Yan Tang, Zeinhom M. El‐Bahy, Bingan Lu, Yangyang Liu, Jiang Zhou

Published: 2025-03-13

DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202500962

Source: Full article


Abstract

AbstractThe widespread adoption of aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (AZIBs) is significantly limited by the diminished cycling stability and reduced lifetime caused by the formation of rampant dendrites and detrimental side reactions, resulting from over‐fast depletion of Zn2+ at the interface. In this contribution, a negatively charged neodymium‐based film via in situ conversion (NCF‐Zn) is presented that attracts Zn2+ ions and repels OH− and SO42− anions. Thereby, a higher Zn2+ concentration is mentioned to postpone the impoverishment of Zn2+ due to the over‐fast kinetics, lower the nucleation barrier, and thus uniform the electrodeposition. Meanwhile, the side reactions on the Zn anode can be suppressed due to the repelling of OH− and SO42− anions. Taking these synergetic advantages, the NCF‐Zn anode enables ultra‐stable cycles for more than 2500 h in Zn|Zn symmetric cells at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and impressive reversibility of 99.93% Coulombic efficiency in Zn|Cu asymmetric cells at a current density of 5 mA cm−2. Notably, the assembled MnO2|NCF‐Zn full cell demonstrates remarkable long‐term cycling stability, retaining 97.2% of its capacity at 1 A g−1 after 1000 cycles. This work offers a straightforward yet effective strategy for constructing a stable protective layer, advancing the development of highly reversible AZIBs.