Achieving stable Zn metal anode via a hydrophobic and Zn2+-conductive amorphous carbon interface

Lianrui Li; Yan Zhang; Changlong Du; Xueqing Zhou; Hualin Xiong; Guizhen Wang; Xihong Lu

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.11.178

Achieving stable Zn metal anode via a hydrophobic and Zn²⁺-conductive amorphous carbon interface

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Mar:657:644-652. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.11.178. Epub 2023 Dec 2.

Authors

Lianrui Li¹, Yan Zhang², Changlong Du¹, Xueqing Zhou¹, Hualin Xiong¹, Guizhen Wang³, Xihong Lu⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Civilization, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan 570228, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Civilization, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan 570228, China. Electronic address: zyan@hainanu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Civilization, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan 570228, China. Electronic address: wangguizhen@hainanu.edu.cn.
⁴ The Key Lab of Low-carbon Chem & Energy Conservation of Guangdong Province, MOE of the Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China. Electronic address: luxh6@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38071813
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.11.178

Abstract

High security and low cost enable aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) with huge application potential in large-scale energy storage. Nevertheless, the loathsome dendrite and side reactions of Zn anode are harmful to the cycling lifespan of AZIBs. Here, a new type of thin amorphous carbon (AC) interface layer (∼100 nm in thickness) is in-situ constructed on the Zn foil (Zn@AC) via a facile low-temperature chemical vapor deposition (LTCVD) method, which owns a hydrophobic peculiarity and a high Zn²⁺ transference rate. Moreover, this AC coating can homogenize the surface electric field and Zn²⁺ flux to realize the uniform deposition of Zn. Consequently, dendrite growth and side reactions are concurrently mitigated. Symmetrical cell achieves a dendrite-free Zn plating/stripping over 500 h with a low overpotential of 31 mV at 1 mA cm^-2/1 mAh cm^-2. Of note, the full cell with a MnO₂/CNT cathode harvests a capacity retention of 70.0 % after 550 cycles at 1 A/g. In addition, the assembled flexible quasi-solid-state AZIBs display a stable electrochemical performance under deformation conditions and maintain a capacity of 76.5 mAh/g at 5 A/g after 300 cycles. This innovative amorphous carbon layer is expected to provide a new insight into stabilizing Zn anode.

Keywords: Amorphous carbon; Aqueous zinc ion batteries; Electrochemical performance; Low-temperature chemical vapor deposition; Zn anode.