Designing a Bimodal BaTiO3 Artificial Layer to Boost the Dielectric Effect toward Highly Reversible Dendrite-Free Zn Metal Anodes

With the growing interest in suppressing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion, the implementation of electrical energy storage devices for efficiently utilizing renewable energy is expanding worldwide. Zn-ion batteries are attractive for energy storage because of their safety, eco-friendliness, high energy density, and low cost. However, their commercialization is hindered by the poor rechargeability of the zinc anode because of Zn dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution. Herein, we present the application of an artificial layer composed of bimodal BaTiO3 particles on Zn metal to boost the dielectric properties and thus enhance the reversibility of Zn anodes during long-term cycling. The BaTiO3 layer induces electric polarization under external electric fields, causing the Zn ions to move sequentially toward the Zn anode. Moreover, its mechanical characteristics alleviate the volume changes between the BaTiO3 layer and Zn metal. Consequently, Zn dendrite growth is effectively inhibited, and the electrochemical performance is significantly improved in Zn|Zn symmetric cells, resulting in a low overvoltage (39 mV) and stable cycling (800 h) at 1 mA cm-2. Moreover, the Zn-ion full cell using an α-MnO2 cathode exhibits consistent capacity retention up to 380 cycles. This study demonstrates a new strategy to economically and readily suppress dendrite formation by using bimodal dielectric particles as artificial layers to stabilize metal-based batteries.