Stable Zinc Metal Anode by Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Enabled Gradient Design

Abstract

The development of long-term stable Zn anodes capable of operating at high current densities and/or capacities remains a huge challenge. Herein, through the rapid potassium permanganate solution treatment and laser lithography, we have developed a gradient Zn anode (LLP@Treated Zn) with the insulating and hydrophobic passivated-layer at the top and conductive and hydrophilic fresh-zinc-layer at the bottom. This makes the passivation layer prevent the Zn anodes from corrosion and side reactions and induce the preferential deposition of Zn at the bottom of the microchannel without dendrite growth. As a consequence, the LLP@Treated Zn anodes exhibit a stable cycle life for over 700 h at 10 mA cm–2 and 5 mAh cm–2. Moreover, the Zn anodes with different surface morphologies (ring, lattice, etc.) could also be obtained by laser lithography, which proves the flexibility of the pulsed laser lithography strategy in the preparation of battery materials.

Laser‐Assisted Interfacial Engineering for High‐Performance All‐Solid‐State Batteries

“…Because the defects in porous LIGs on the wall of the PI pillar can be the active site of heterogeneous nucleation of Li, the Li deposition at LIGs occurs ahead of that on the surface of Cu foil. In contrast, the top surface of PI functions as an insulating passivation layer [115] that prevents the deposition of Li. Consequently, the growth of Li dendrite is suppressed until the channels are filled with Li.…”

Atomic Pinning of Trace Additives Induces Interfacial Solvation for Highly Reversible Zn Metal Anodes

“…To tackle these issues, considerable efforts have been made in anode interface modification, − surface patterning, − and electrolyte engineering. − Compared to other methods, electrolyte engineering can effectively change the chemical environment of Zn 2+ and Zn anodes and weaken the hydrogen bonding network of water, thus promoting uniform deposition of Zn and inhibiting the HER. However, high concentrations of “water-in-salt” methods usually lead to excessive viscosity and high costs.…”

Dual-Parasitic Effect Enables Highly Reversible Zn Metal Anode for Ultralong 25,000 Cycles Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

“…Generally, a higher corrosion voltage represents a better anticorrosion behavior. 29 Meanwhile, the W 7 E 3 electrolyte also exhibits a H 2 evolution (HER) current smaller than that of the W 10 E 0 electrolyte, achieving a highly stable Zn anode (Figure 2b). Moreover, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the immersed Zn anode in the W 7 E 3 electrolyte also presents much weaker diffraction peaks of Zn x (OTf) y (OH) 2x−y •nH 2 O than the W 10 E 0 electrolyte (Figure 2c).…”