Interface engineering via in-situ electrochemical induced ZnSe for a stabilized zinc metal anode

Metallic zinc is an attractive anode candidate for rechargeable zinc batteries due to its low cost and excellent safety. However, the dendritic growth and hydrogen evolution reaction result in inferior cycle stability and Coulombic efficiency, restricting its development in the realm of large-scale energy storage. Herein, an in-situ electrochemical induction technique was developed to fabricate ZnSe on the zinc surface. The in-situ constructed interface layer sustains a homogenous surface and tight contact with the zinc anode, and endows zinc with a high hydrophilic and low nucleation energy barrier for competently alleviating dendrites and side reactions during repeated zinc plating/stripping. Consequently, the protected zinc is stable enough to survive over 1000 h at a practical current density of 2 mA cm−2. Furthermore, a full battery coupled with a MnO2 cathode achieves 1000 cycles of durability. Given that this low-cost and straightforward methodology efficiently eliminates dendrites, these findings suggest a promising path for stabilizing zinc metal with defined properties.