Alleviation of Dendrite Formation on Zinc Anodes via Electrolyte Additives

Zinc-anode-based batteries have been widely studied because of their low cost, high capacity, and high energy density. However, the formation of dendrites on the zinc anode during cycling severely affects the stability and safety of this type of battery. In this work, a series of electrolyte additives with potential to counter this problem were studied. We found that lithium chloride (LiCl) additive can suppress the growth of dendrites and stabilize the Zn metal anode, on which the cations (Li+) preferentially form Li2O/Li2CO3 upon the Zn surface and provide a shielding effect to suppress dendritic deposition, while a moderate amount of anions (Cl–) decreases the Zn polarization and facilitates ion transport. Asymmetric cells with LiCl additives in the electrolyte showed notably higher stability during the long cycling process.