An Artificial Interphase Engineering Simultaneously Suppressing Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and Controlling Zinc Dendrite Growth to Achieve Stable Zinc Metal Anodes

Abstract Zinc metal anode, the most promising candidate material for rechargeable aqueous zinc‐ion batteries, has attracted considerable attention due to its abundant resources and low cost. However, hydrogen evolution reaction and uncontrollable zinc dendrite growth on zinc metal anode are the essential issues that strictly limit their practical application. Here, a modified Zn with a titanium nitride (TiN) protective layer (TiN@Zn) using a simple solvent casting approach is developed, which can simultaneously suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction and control the zinc dendrite growth when acting like a protective layer on the Zn anode. In situ differential electrochemical mass spectrometry approach shows that the TiN coating layer can effectively suppress the hydrogen evolution. Additionally, the TiN can offer large Zn nucleation sites, narrowing the Zn nucleation energy barrier, leading to a uniform Zn deposition. Thus, in symmetric cells, the TiN@Zn electrode presents a stable Zn plating/striping (600 h at 1 mA cm −2 ) and lower potential hysteresis (38 mV), resulting in an improved electrochemical performance for TiN@Zn||MnO 2 full cell.