As lithium costs soar and safety incidents mount, aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZMBs) promise a cheap, non-flammable alternative—yet zinc anodes still rot from within, sprouting dendrites that short-circuit cells in days while hydrogen bubbles swell the pack. Now, a multi-institute team led by Prof. Qingli Zou (Beijing University of Chemical Technology) and Prof. Hongjin Fan (Nanyang Technological University) has delivered a design manual in Nano-Micro Letters that turns commercial Zn foil into an ultra-stable anode through simple, low-cost inorganic coatings, pushing symmetric cells beyond 6500 h and pouch cells past 200 cycles at 10 mAh cm-2.
Why Inorganic Interface Engineering Matters
· Dendrite Suppression: Dense Al2O3, ZnO or TiO2 layers homogenize surface charge and provide zincophilic nucleation sites, forcing lateral (002)-textured growth instead of mossy filaments.
· Hydrogen Evolution Blockade: Phosphate, silicate or MXene barriers physically isolate water from the metal, cutting HER to <0.1 % per cycle and eliminating cell swelling.
· High Areal Capacity: Non-consumable, corrosion-resistant coatings tolerate >10 mAh cm-2 and 50 mA cm-2—meeting practical targets for grid storage and e-mobility.
Innovative Design & Features
· Material Palette: Metal oxides (TiO2, ZrO2, Nb2O5), nitrides (TiN, CrN), sulfides/selenides (ZnS, ZnSe), MXenes (Ti3C2Cl2) and acid salts (Zn3(PO4)2, sepiolite) are compared for ionic conductivity, adsorption energy and mechanical strength.
· Structure Engineering: Atomic-layer-deposited 10 nm Al2O3, micro-concave ZnO, hollow ZnSnO3 cubes and 45 nm zinc-phosphate SEI each demonstrate specific pathways to guide Zn2⁺ flux and suppress side reactions.
· Scale-Up Compatibility: All coatings are deposited by spray, dip, ALD or simple chemical bath—compatible with roll-to-roll processing of commercial Zn foil.
Applications & Future Outlook
· Grid-Scale Storage: A 1 Ah Zn||V2O5 pouch cell with Zn-phosphate interface retains 80 % capacity after 200 cycles at 10 mAh cm-2, projecting <$60 kWh-1 system cost.
· Flexible Devices: 10 nm MXene-coated Zn anodes survive 1 500 bends in Zn-I2 thread batteries, enabling wearable e-textiles.
· Next Steps: Team is integrating AI-guided lattice-matching models and in-line thickness monitoring to transfer the technology to 100 Ah modules by 2026.
This roadmap converts the zinc anode from a liability into a long-lived, high-energy asset, positioning AZMBs as the front-runner for safe, sustainable and low-cost energy storage.
