Rechargeable zinc batteries (RZBs) have proved to be promising candidates as an alternative to lithium‐ion batteries due to their low cost, inherent safety, and environmentally benign features. While designing cost‐effective electrolyte systems with excellent compatibility with electrode materials, high energy/power density as well as long life‐span challenge their further application as grid‐scale energy storage devices. Eutectic electrolytes as a novel class of electrolytes have been extensively reported and explored taking advantage of their feasible preparation and high tunability. Recently, some perspectives have summarized the development and application of eutectic electrolytes in metal‐based batteries, but their infancy requires further attention and discussion. This review systematically presents the fundamentals and definitions of eutectic electrolytes. Besides, a specific classification of eutectic electrolytes and their recent progress and performance on RZB fields are introduced as well. Significantly, the impacts of various composing eutectic systems are disserted for critical RZB chemistries including attractive features at electrolyte/electrode interfaces and ions/charges transport kinetics. The remaining challenges and proposed perspectives are ultimately induced, which deliver opportunities and offer practical guidance for the novel design of advanced eutectic electrolytes for superior RZB scenarios.

Solid-state zinc-ion batteries (SSZIBs) are receiving much attention as low-cost and safe energy storage technology for emerging applications in flexible and wearable devices, and grid storage. However, the development of SSZIBs faces many challenges from key battery materials development to structure design. Herein, we review the most recent progress in the development of polymer electrolytes, cell chemistry and configuration, and demonstration of SSZIBs. In conclusion, perspectives for future research in materials, interface, and assessment of SSZIBs are discussed.

Understanding zinc (Zn) deposition behavior and improving Zn stripping and plating reversibility are significant in developing practical aqueous Zn ion batteries (AZIBs). Zn metal is abundant, cost‐effective, and intrinsically safe compared with Li. However, their similar inhomogeneous growth regime harms their practicality. This work reports a facile, easily scalable, but effective method to develop a textured Zn with unidirectional scratches on the surface that electrochemically achieves a high accumulated areal capacity of 5530 mAh cm−2 with homogenized Zn deposition. In symmetric cells, textured Zn presents a stable cycling performance of 1100 hours (vs 250 h of bare Zn) at 0.5 mA cm−2 for 0.5 mAh cm−2 and lower nucleation and plating overpotentials of 120.5 and 41.8 mV. In situ optical microscopy and COMSOL simulation disclose that the textured surface topography can 1) homogenize the electron field distribution on the Zn surface and regulate Zn nucleation and growth, and 2) provides physical space to accommodate Zn deposits, prevent the detachment of “dead” Zn, and improve the structural sufficiency of Zn anode. Moreover, differential electrochemical mass spectrometry analysis find that the textured Zn with regulated interfacial electron activity also presents a higher resistance toward hydrogen evolution and other parasitic reactions.

Unambiguous understanding in lithium anode failure mechanism calls for a comprehensive methodology to investigate the coupled morphological, electrochemical and mechanical behaviors during the stripping process. In this work, a mechanistic investigation of the pitting behavior of lithium metal in an electrolyte containing lithium polysulfides in lithium sulfur batteries was developed. It is found that lithium polysulfides could aggravate the nonuniform stripping of lithium electrodes.

No abstract