Modulating Cation Migration and Deposition with Xylitol Additive and Oriented Reconstruction of Hydrogen Bonds for Stable Zinc Anodes
Hongfei Wang, Wuquan Ye, Bo‐Wen Yin, Kexin Wang, Muhammad Sohail Riaz, Bin‐Bin Xie, Yijun Zhong, Yong Hu
Abstract
Abstract Highly reversible plating/stripping in aqueous electrolytes is one of the critical processes determining the performance of Zn‐ion batteries, but it is severely impeded by the parasitic side reaction and dendrite growth. Herein, a novel electrolyte engineering strategy is first proposed based on the usage of 100 mM xylitol additive, which inhibits hydrogen evolution reaction and accelerates cations migration by expelling active H 2 O molecules and weakening electrostatic interaction through oriented reconstruction of hydrogen bonds. Concomitantly, xylitol molecules are preferentially adsorbed by Zn surface, which provides a shielding buffer layer to retard the sedimentation and suppress the planar diffusion of Zn 2+ ions. Zn 2+ transference number and cycling lifespan of Zn ∥ Zn cells have been significantly elevated, overwhelmingly larger than bare ZnSO 4 . The cell coupled with a NaV 3 O 8 cathode still behaves much better than the additive‐free device in terms of capacity retention.