Laser-Induced Three-Dimensional Zn 1– x Cu x O Solid-Solution Protective Layer for High-Stability Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), owing to their environmental friendliness and cost advantages, have attracted widespread attention. However, their practical application is severely hindered by poor interfacial stability, which leads to nonuniform Zn2+ deposition and consequently triggers severe dendrite growth. In addition, hydrogen evolution reactions and the formation of side products further deteriorate the electrochemical performance of the battery and shorten its lifespan. To address these challenges, a facile laser-induced strategy was developed to construct a three-dimensional Zn1–xCuxO (ZCO) solid-solution protective layer, thereby yielding a highly stable ZCO@Zn anode. Benefiting from abundant active surface sites and excellent zincophilicity, the ZCO layer exhibits a low overpotential, effectively suppressing dendrite growth while facilitating rapid Zn2+ transport. As a result, the ZCO@Zn//ZCO@Zn symmetric cells deliver long-term stable cycling for over 686 h at 5 mA cm–2. In addition, the ZCO@Zn//Cu cells exhibit stable cycling for more than 635 cycles at 1 mA cm–2, while the ZCO@Zn//I2 cells retain a high capacity retention of approximately 70% after 10,000 cycles at 1 A g–1. In summary, this work presents a simple and efficient laser-induced strategy for enhancing the interfacial stability of zinc anodes.