Rechargeable aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) represent a promising technology for large‐scale energy storage due to their high capacity, intrinsic safety and low cost. However, Zn anodes suffer from poor reversibility and cycling stability caused by the side‐reactions and dendrite issues, which limit the Zn utilization in the ZIBs. Herein, to improve the durability of Zn under high utilization, an aluminum‐doped zinc oxide (AZO) interphase is presented. The AZO interphase inhibits side reactions by isolating active Zn from the bulk electrolyte, and enables facile and uniform Zn deposition kinetics by accelerating the desolvation of hydrated Zn2+ and homogenizing the electric field distribution. Accordingly, the AZO‐coated Zn (AZO@Zn) anode exhibits a long lifespan of 600 h with Zn utilization of 34.1% at the current density of 10 mA cm−2. Notably, even under ultrahigh Zn utilization of 80%, the AZO@Zn remains stable cycling over 200 h. Meanwhile, the V2O5/AZO@Zn full cell with limited Zn excess displays high capacity retention of 86.8% over 500 cycles at 2 A g−1. This work provides a simple and efficient strategy to ensure the reversibility and durability of Zn anodes under high utilization conditions, holding a great promise for commercially available ZIBs with competitive energy density.

Two-dimensional (2D) oxides have unique electrical, optical, magnetic, and catalytic properties, which are promising for a wide range of applications in different fields. However, it is difficult to fabricate most oxides as 2D materials unless they have a layered structure. Here, we present a facile strategy for the synthesis of ultrathin oxide nanosheets using a self-formed sacrificial template of carbon layers by taking advantage of the Maillard reaction and violent redox reaction between glucose and ammonium nitrate. To date, 36 large-area ultrathin oxides (with thickness ranging from ~1.5 to ~4 nm) have been fabricated using this method, including rare-earth oxides, transition metal oxides, III-main group oxides, II-main group oxides, complex perovskite oxides, and high-entropy oxides. In particular, the as-obtained perovskite oxides exhibit great electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction in an alkaline solution. This facile, universal, and scalable strategy provides opportunities to study the properties and applications of atomically thin oxide nanomaterials.

Electrochromic (EC) smart windows are considered one promising energy-conservation and emission-reduction device for green construction. However, conventional EC devices need external power to switch colors, which causes additional energy consumption. Herein, we propose a potential gradient strategy to attain a fast self-chargeable and -dischargeable EC system. In this strategy, the potential difference between Prussian blue (PB) and zinc (Zn) is established to reduce PB to Prussian white (PW) in 1.0 s, while etched carbon paper (ECP) could oxidize PW to its original state in 2.2 s. Moreover, this strategy is shown to be applicable for other highperformance EC systems, including Zn||WO 3 ||ECP, Zn|| PEDOT||ECP, Al||PB||ECP, and Zn||PB||ZnHCF. The potential application of large-scale windows is discussed in terms of a prototype 25 cm 2 EC window. Thus, the unique potential gradient strategy provides new insights for developing a fast self-switching EC device, which exhibits great application prospects in both energy conservation and energy storage.

The modification of metallic Zn anode contributes to solving the cycling issue of Zn‐ion batteries (ZIBs) by restraining the dendrite growth and side reactions. In this regard, modulating (002) Zn is an effective way to prolong the lifespan of ZIBs with a parallel arrangement of Zn deposition. Herein, the authors propose to add trace amounts of Zn(BF4)2 additive in 3 M ZnSO4 to promote in‐plane Zn deposition by forming a BF4−‐[Zn(H2O)6]2+‐[Zn(BF4)3]− transfer process and specifically functioning on (002) facets. In this way, the optimized electrolyte highly boosts the cycling stability of Zn anodes with a long lifespan at 34.2% Zn utilization (500 h/10 mA cm−2) and 51.3% Zn utilization (360 h/10 mA cm−2; 834 h/1 mA cm−2). Moreover, the electroplated Zn on Cu substrate exhibits a competitive cumulative plating capacity (CPC) of 2.87 Ah cm−2 under harsh conditions. The assembled Zn|(NH4)2V6O16·3H2O full cells with a high cathode loading of 29.12 mg cm−2 also realizes almost no capacity degradation even after 2000 cycles at 2 A g−1. With this cost‐effective strategy, it is promising to push the development of aqueous ZIBs as well as provide inspiration for metal anode optimization in other energy storage systems.

The commercialization of aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) is seriously hindered by the inferior stability of the Zn anode, which principally originates from water-induced side reactions and dendrite issues. Interfacial engineering has been considered as a cost-effective way to tackle these bottlenecks. However, most artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) suffers from sluggish Zn2+ migration and thus compromises the kinetic merits of aqueous ZIBs especially at ultrahigh rates. Herein, we present a unique H2O molecules-rich zinc phytate (PAZn) interphase for the optimization of Zn anodes. The critical role of crystal water on the Zn2+ transport process is demonstrated. Benefiting from the shielding effect, the Zn2+ diffusion coefficient increases by orders of magnitude in the presence of crystal water. Accordingly, the Zn anode modified by PAZn interphase delivers an impressive lifespan of 1200 h and dramatically reduced voltage hysteresis even under an ultrahigh current density of 10 mA cm–2, and it remains stable even at a higher Zn utilization exceeding 50%. Moreover, the V2O5//PAZn@Zn full cell exhibits remarkable performance with a high capacity retention of 89.3% after 600 cycles. This work provides an effective strategy for rationally designing highly Zn2+-conductive artificial SEI for durable Zn anodes and high-performance commercially available ZIBs.

Vanadium oxides represent a promising cathode material for aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) owing to their abundant valences and versatile cation-storage capacities. However, the sluggish Zn2+ diffusion kinetics in the...

Abstract2D materials possess a range of unique and exclusive properties due to their ultrathin feature, leading their forefront role in several research areas, including electronics, photonics, catalysis and renewable energy. To ensure a wider application for high‐quality 2D materials, there is a global pursuit to find new “industrial scale” methodologies for the facile fabrication of advanced 2D materials. Blowing method is a general and scalable strategy for synthesizing ultrathin materials with layered or nonlayered structures, which opens up a new avenue for economic and massive preparation of good‐quality nonlayered 2D nanosheets. This minireview summarizes the specific steps and principles of blowing method, focuses on the recent progress in preparing different categories of 2D materials, and further proposes an outlook for future opportunities in this growing field.