Porous zinc metal anodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries: Advances and prospectives

The intensifying challenges posed by climate change and the depletion of fossil fuels have spurred concerted global efforts to develop alternative energy storage solutions. Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have emerged as promising candidates for large-scale electrochemical energy storage systems, owing to their intrinsic safety, cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability. However, the persistent issue of Zn dendrite growth poses a significant challenge to the performance improvements and commercial viability of AZIBs. The use of three-dimensional porous Zn anodes instead of planar Zn plates has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to regulate the deposition/stripping behavior of Zn²⁺ ions, thereby inhibiting the dendrite growth. Here, we summarize the merits of porous Zn anodes and provide a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in the engineering of porous Zn metal anodes, with a particular emphasis on the structural orderliness and the critical role of porous structure modulation in enhancing battery performance. Furthermore, we present strategic insights into the design of porous Zn anodes, aiming to facilitate the practical implementation of AZIBs for grid-scale energy storage applications.