Rational Screening of Artificial Solid Electrolyte Interphases on Zn for Ultrahigh‐Rate and Long‐Life Aqueous Batteries

Abstract Solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on Zn anodes plays a pivotal role for high‐rate and long‐life aqueous batteries, because it effectively inhibits side reactions and dendritic growth. Many materials are explored as SEIs by a trial‐and‐error approach. Herein, an exercisable way is proposed to screen the potential SEIs on Zn anodes in view of dendrite‐suppressing ability and charge‐transfer property theoretically. As an output of this screening, Zn 3 (BO 3 ) 2 (ZBO) is checked experimentally. In symmetrical cells, Zn@ZBO runs over 250 h at an ultrahigh current density of 50 mA cm −2 for a large areal capacity 10 mAh cm −2 . In full cells, Zn@ZBO||MnO 2 shows an impressive cumulative capacity (≈406 mAh cm −2 ) under harsh conditions, i.e., a lean electrolyte condition (10 µL mAh −1 ), limited Zn supply (negative/positive electrode capacity ratio, N/P ratio = 2.3), and high areal capacity (5.0 mAh cm −2 ). The significance of this work lies in not only the first report of ZBO on Zn showing excellent electrochemical performance, but also a feasible way to screen the promising SEI materials for other metal anodes.