Ionic Layer Epitaxy Growth of Organic/Inorganic Composite Protective Layers for Large-Area Li and Zn Metal Anodes

Li and Zn metal batteries using organic and aqueous electrolytes, respectively, are desirable next-generation energy storage systems to replace the traditional Li-ion batteries. However, their cycle life and safety performance are severely constrained by a series of issues that are attributed to dendrite growth. To solve these issues, a nanothick ZnO–oleic acid (ZnO–OA) composite protective layer is developed by a facile ionic layer epitaxy method. The ZnO–OA layer provides strong lithophilic and zincophilic properties, which can effectively induce uniform ion deposition. As a result, the ZnO–OA protected Li and Zn metal anodes can cycle stably for over 600 and 1000 h under a large current density of 10 mA cm–2. Employing the ZnO–OA protected anodes, the Li||LiFePO4 cell can maintain a capacity retention of 99.5% after 600 cycles at a 1 C rate and the Zn||MnO2 cell can operate stably for 1000 cycles at 1 A g–1 current density.