Polyvinyl alcohol coating induced preferred crystallographic orientation in aqueous zinc battery anodes

The development of rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries is mainly hindered by the Zn anode, which suffers from dendrite growth, corrosion, hydrogen evolution, and surface passivation. Herein, a thin polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) coating layer on Zn anode has enabled dendrite-free, long-life aqueous Zn batteries by effectively regulating the interfacial ion diffusion and inducing the homogeneous Zn nucleation and deposition of stacked plates with preferentially crystallographic orientation along (002)Zn planes. The PVA@Zn anode achieved an ultralong cycle lifespan of thousands of hours at 0.25 and 1 mA cm−2. Outstanding durability under a deep cycling capacity (5 mA h cm−2), high current density (10 mA cm−2), and long duration conditions were achieved. The superior cyclability of PVA@Zn anode was also demonstrated in PVA@Zn//V2O5 full cells. The insights of PVA induced Zn deposition with preferred crystal orientation and interfacial regulation shed light on the future development of stable Zn anodes.