A Systematic Understanding of Zinc Salts in Electrolyte Design for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

With the increasing demand for efficient energy storage technologies, aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have garnered significant attention due to their advantages of high theoretical capacity, abundant resources, high safety, and environmental friendliness. However, they face challenges such as zinc dendrite formation and a limited electrochemical window. The choice of electrolyte plays a crucial role in the performance of ZIBs; electrolyte engineering has become an important strategy for the modification of ZIBs. Although there have been a large number of research papers and reviews reporting the design of electrolyte for zinc-ion batteries, it still lacks a comprehensive understanding of electrolyte design from a zinc salt perspective. This paper reviews the basic properties and research progress of zinc salts for ZIBs, including inorganic zinc salts, organic zinc salts, and hybrid zinc salts. It emphasizes the importance of in-depth research on the action mechanisms of zinc salts to optimize the performance of ZIBs, with the goal of providing both theoretical and practical guidance for the development of electrolytes for high-performance ZIBs.