Challenges and strategies of zinc anode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Abstract

Poor safety and limited lithium resources have caused concerns for the future development of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which are applied in many fields in our daily life. Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) with an aqueous electrolyte have a higher safety, and lower cost, which are regarded as one of the most promising types of rechargeable batteries applied in grid energy storage and industrial energy storage as a replacement for LIBs. However, during charging and discharging processes, dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution, corrosion and passivation of the zinc anode seriously restrict the cycling stability of AZIBs. In this article, we analyze the reasons for those problems in zinc anodes, and summarize the recent improvement strategies from four aspects: construction of composite materials, modification of anode-electrolyte interface, design of electrolyte and design of separator. Finally, we propose five suggestions about approaching the investigative orientation of zinc anodes for researchers to discuss.