Interfacial Engineering Regulates Deposition Kinetics of Zinc Metal Anodes

Rechargeable aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) represent a promising energy storage technology due to their high theoretical capacity, intrinsic security, and low cost. However, the practical applications of ZIBs have been considerably hindered by the poor stability of Zn anodes, caused by the undesired dendrites and side reactions. Herein, we present an interfacial engineering strategy to address these issues via in situ tuning the surface texture through a laser-micromachining method. The as-prepared Zn anode shows a periodic grid array architecture with a rough surface. This unique structure enhances the interfacial wettability and optimizes the mass transfer kinetics of Zn plating/stripping. In addition, a large number of Zn nanoparticles could serve as nucleation sites to regulate uniform Zn deposition. As a result, the engineered Zn array anode enables a remarkably ultralong cycling life of 2500 h at 10 mA cm^–2 (areal capacity of 2 mA h cm^–2) with a benchmark cumulative capacity of 12.5 A h cm^–2. The hybrid supercapacitor based on the Zn array anode and activated carbon (AC) cathode further demonstrates its superior stability, showing no capacity loss after 20 000 cycles. This interfacial engineering strategy with mass production possibility can also be applied to other metal electrodes, holding a great promise for durable energy storage systems.