Nonepitaxial Electrodeposition of (002)‐Textured Zn Anode on Textureless Substrates for Dendrite‐Free and Hydrogen Evolution‐Suppressed Zn Batteries

Abstract

Nontoxic and safe aqueous Zn batteries are largely restricted by the detrimental dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution of Zn metal anode. The (002)‐textured Zn electrodeposition, demonstrated as an effective approach for solving these issues, is nevertheless achieved mainly by epitaxial or hetero‐epitaxial deposition of Zn on pre‐textured substrates. Herein, the electrodeposition of (002)‐textured and compact Zn on textureless substrates (commercial Zn, Cu, and Ti foils) at a medium‐high galvanostatic current density is reported. According to the systematic investigations on Zn nucleation and growth behaviors, this is ascribed to two reasons: i) the promoted nonepitaxial nucleation of fine horizontal (002) nuclei at increased overpotential and ii) the competitive growth advantages of (002)‐orientated nuclei. The resulting freestanding (002)‐textured Zn film exhibits significantly suppressed hydrogen evolution and prolonged Zn plating–stripping cycling life, achieving over 2100 mAh cm−2 cumulative capacity under a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a high depth of discharge (DOD) of 45.5%. Therefore, this study provides both fundamental and practical insights into long‐life Zn metal batteries.

Orientational Electrodeposition of Highly (002)-Textured Zinc Metal Anodes Enabled by Iodide Ions for Stable Aqueous Zinc Batteries

“…Even at 20 mAh cm –2 at 1 mA cm –2 corresponding to ∼71.7% depth of discharge (DOD), this H-(002)-Zn can still stably cycle over 500 h with steady voltage curves (Figure f), significantly surpassing the (101)-Zn counterpart (Figure S27). Compared with the state-of-the-art Zn electrodes, ,,,,,,,,,,− the tailored H-(002)-Zn manifests superior performances in terms of DOD, cycling time, and areal capacity (Figure g and Table S2).…”

“…Notably, electrodeposition by adopting an ultrahigh plating current (e.g., 80−100 mA cm −2 ) has been recently reported to prepare (002)-Zn. 32,42 Despite progress, the coexistence of ( 101) and (100) texture is still observed in Zn products, where the intensity ratios of (002) to ( 101) and ( 002 the optimized 1 M ZnSO 4 + 0.8 M NaI electrolyte manifests a compact structure without containing the (100) signal, and its I (002) /I (101) reaches an ultrahigh value of 400.9. Complementary experimental and theoretical characterizations demonstrate that the I − ion can guide Zn 2+ to preferentially adsorb on the Zn (100) plane, which significantly elevates the growth rate of the (100) plane, thus rendering the final exposure of the (002) surface.…”

High-density cathode structure of independently acting Prussian-blue-analog nanoparticles: a high-power Zn–Na-ion battery discharging ∼200 mA cm−2 at 1000C

“…69 In some studies in 2023, the current densities commercial polycrystalline Zn foils were enhanced via the (002)-oriented crystal growth. [70][71][72] The RSW structure had an ultrahigh-rate discharging ability, with much higher current densities during discharging than during charging, as summarized in Table S1. † To further develop practical ultrahigh-rate Zn-Na/KIBs with synchronized charge/discharge, we aim to improve the plating performances of Zn-metal anodes and optimize cell conditions.…”

Synergistic Cooperation of Zn(002) Texture and Amorphous Zinc Phosphate for Dendrite-Free Zn Anodes

“…In this context, the electrochemical performance was improved by nearly 2 orders of magnitude. Pu et al achieved the highly Zn(002)-textured anodes by controlling the current density . Although Zn(002) texture benefits the smooth deposition, direct exposure of metallic zinc to corrosive electrolytes unavoidably triggers side reactions, thus reducing the reversibility of zinc plating/stripping, especially during long-term cycling.…”

“…Pu et al achieved the highly Zn(002)-textured anodes by controlling the current density. 41 Although Zn(002) texture benefits the smooth deposition, direct exposure of metallic zinc to corrosive electrolytes unavoidably triggers side reactions, thus reducing the reversibility of zinc plating/ stripping, especially during long-term cycling. In order to address this concern, passivation layers have to coat Zn anodes.…”