Inducing preferential growth of the Zn (002) plane by using a multifunctional chelator for achieving highly reversible Zn anodes

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have demonstrated great potential for large-scale energy storage. However, their practical applications have been restricted by fast Zn dendrite growth and severe side reactions at the Zn/electrolyte interface. Herein, sodium gluconate is incorporated into a mild acidic electrolyte as a multifunctional additive to stabilize the Zn anode. Experiments and theoretical calculations reveal that the SG additive can induce planar growth of Zn along its (002) direction, thereby inhibiting Zn dendrite growth. This dendrite inhibition effect is attributed to the preferential adsorption of Zn²⁺ on the Zn (002) plane, while the Zn (100) and (101) planes are shielded by gluconate ions. Consequently, Zn||Zn symmetric cells with the electrolyte additive exhibit significantly prolonged cycle lives of 2000 h at 1 mA cm^-2, 1 mA h cm^-2 and 900 h at 5 mA cm^-2, 2.5 mA h cm^-2. Futhermore, the Zn||NH₄V₄O₁₀ full cell retains 95% of its initial capacity after 2000 cycles at a current density of 5 A g^-1 with an average CE of nearly 100%. This work offers a cost-effective strategy to enhance the electrochemical performance of AZIBs.