Boric acid-induced preferential deposition of (002) plane for highly stable zinc anode

Abstract

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) hold significant promise in the future energy storage market. However, the uncontrolled growth of zinc dendrites and the occurrence of side reactions severely constrain the practical deployment of ZIBs. To address these challenges, this study suggests incorporating H3BO3 (HBO) as an electrolyte additive into the ZnSO4 electrolyte, with the aim of inducing preferential growth of the (002) plane. HBO molecules selectively adsorb onto the (100) and (101) planes of zinc, promoting the deposition of Zn2+ ions into the (002) plane and resulting in the formation of a uniformly deposited layer while concurrently inhibiting side reactions. The results demonstrate that ZnǁZn symmetric batteries, with the HBO additive, exhibit stable cycling at high current density, achieving a cycling life of 1100 h at 10 and 10 mAh cm−2 as well as 250 h at 50% depth of discharge. Furthermore, the ZnǁVO2 coin cell demonstrates stable cycling for 1700 cycles at 1 A g−1 and 7000 cycles at 5 A g−1. This study presents a promising case for the commercialization of advanced ZIBs.