Rationalized Electroepitaxy toward Scalable Single-Crystal Zn Anodes

Adv Mater. 2023 Jul;35(28):e2301410. doi: 10.1002/adma.202301410. Epub 2023 May 26.

Abstract

Electroepitaxy is recognized as an effective approach to prepare metal electrodes with nearly complete reversibility. Nevertheless, large-scale manipulation is still not attainable owing to complicated interfacial chemistry. Here, the feasibility of extending Zn electroepitaxy toward the bulk phase over a mass-produced mono-oriented Cu(111) foil is demonstrated. Interfacial Cu-Zn alloy and turbulent electroosmosis are circumvented by adopting a potentiostatic electrodeposition protocol. The as-prepared Zn single-crystalline anode enables stable cycling of symmetric cells at a stringent current density of 50.0 mA cm-2 . The assembled full cell further sustaines a capacity retention of 95.7% at 5.0 A g-1 for 1500 cycles, accompanied by a controllably low N/P ratio of 7.5. In addition to Zn, Ni electroepitaxy can be realized by using the same approach. This study may inspire rational exploration of the design of high-end metal electrodes.

Keywords: Cu(111); Zn anode; electroepitaxy; hydrodynamic field; single crystals.

MeSH terms

  • Alloys*
  • Electrodes
  • Electroplating*
  • Zinc

Substances

  • Alloys
  • Zinc