An Overview of Challenges and Strategies for Stabilizing Zinc Anodes in Aqueous Rechargeable Zn-Ion Batteries
Nhat Anh Thieu,
Wei Li,
Xiujuan Chen,
Shanshan Hu,
Hanchen Tian,
Ha Ngoc Ngan Tran,
Wenyuan Li,
David M. Reed,
Xiaolin Li,
Xingbo Liu
Affiliations
Nhat Anh Thieu
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Wei Li
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Xiujuan Chen
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Shanshan Hu
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Hanchen Tian
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Ha Ngoc Ngan Tran
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Wenyuan Li
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
David M. Reed
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, USA
Xiaolin Li
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, USA
Xingbo Liu
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) have been revived and are considered a promising candidate for scalable electrochemical energy storage systems due to their intrinsic safety, low cost, large abundance, mature recyclability, competitive electrochemical performance, and sustainability. However, the deployment of aqueous rechargeable ZIBs is still hampered by the poor electrochemical stability and reversibility of Zn anodes, which is a common, inherent issue for most metal-based anodes. This review presents a comprehensive and timely overview of the challenges and strategies of Zn anodes toward durable ZIBs. First, several challenges that significantly reduce the Coulombic efficiency and cycling stability of Zn anodes are briefly discussed including dendrite formation, hydrogen evolution, and corrosion. Then, the mitigation strategies are summarized in terms of modifying the electrode/electrolyte interfaces, designing electrode structures, and optimizing electrolytes and separators. Further, we comprehensively discuss the mechanisms behind these issues and improvement strategies with respect to the anodes, electrolytes, and separators. Lastly, we provide perspectives and critical analyses of remaining challenges, outlook, and future direction for accelerating the practical application of aqueous rechargeable ZIBs.
