Rational Screening of Artificial Solid Electrolyte Interphases on Zn for Ultrahigh-Rate and Long-Life Aqueous Batteries.

Wang, Dongdong; Liu, Hongxia; Lv, Dan; Wang, Cheng; Yang, Jian; Qian, Yitai · Adv Mater · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on Zn anodes plays a pivotal role for high-rate and long-life aqueous batteries, because it effectively inhibits side reactions and dendritic growth. Many materials are explored as SEIs by a trial-and-error approach. Herein, an exercisable way is proposed to screen the potential SEIs on Zn anodes in view of dendrite-suppressing ability and charge-transfer property theoretically. As an output of this screening, Zn<sub>3</sub> (BO<sub>3</sub> )<sub>2</sub> (ZBO) is checked experimentally. In symmetrical cells, Zn@ZBO runs over 250 h at an ultrahigh current density of 50 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> for a large areal capacity 10 mAh cm<sup>-2</sup> . In full cells, Zn@ZBO||MnO<sub>2</sub> shows an impressive cumulative capacity (≈406 mAh cm<sup>-2</sup> ) under harsh conditions, i.e., a lean electrolyte condition (10 µL mAh<sup>-1</sup> ), limited Zn supply (negative/positive electrode capacity ratio, N/P ratio = 2.3), and high areal capacity (5.0 mAh cm<sup>-2</sup> ). The significance of this work lies in not only the first report of ZBO on Zn showing excellent electrochemical performance, but also a feasible way to screen the promising SEI materials for other metal anodes.