Intrinsically zincophobic protective layer for dendrite-free zinc metal anode

Aqueous zinc anodes have attracted the attention of many researchers owing to their high safety, low cost, and high theoretical specific capacity. However, its practical application is severely limited by the dendrite growth on zinc anode. Herein, we develop an intrinsically zincophobic barium-titanate protective layer with a porous structure to suppress the zinc dendrite formation by homogenizing the ion distribution on the anode surface, increasing the nucleation sites, and limiting the irregular zinc growth. Based on these synergistic effects, the coated zinc anode can exhibit long cycle life (840 h at 0.5 mA/cm(2) for 0.5 mAh/cm(2)) and low voltage hysteresis (36 mV). This work can provide a feasible direction for the design of intrinsically zincophobic coating materials to uniformize the zinc stripping and plating. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.