State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, P. R. China.
Christopher Ingold Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, WC1H 0AJ, UK.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023 Apr 24;62(18):e202301192. doi: 10.1002/anie.202301192. Epub 2023 Mar 24.
Routine electrolyte additives are not effective enough for uniform zinc (Zn) deposition, because they are hard to proactively guide atomic-level Zn deposition. Here, based on underpotential deposition (UPD), we propose an "escort effect" of electrolyte additives for uniform Zn deposition at the atomic level. With nickel ion (Ni ) additives, we found that metallic Ni deposits preferentially and triggers the UPD of Zn on Ni. This facilitates firm nucleation and uniform growth of Zn while suppressing side reactions. Besides, Ni dissolves back into the electrolyte after Zn stripping with no influence on interfacial charge transfer resistance. Consequently, the optimized cell operates for over 900 h at 1 mA cm (more than 4 times longer than the blank one). Moreover, the universality of "escort effect" is identified by using Cr and Co additives. This work would inspire a wide range of atomic-level principles by controlling interfacial electrochemistry for various metal batteries.
常规电解质添加剂对于均匀的锌（Zn）沉积效果不够显著，因为它们难以主动引导原子级别的 Zn 沉积。在这里，我们基于欠电位沉积（UPD），提出了一种用于原子级均匀 Zn 沉积的电解质添加剂的“护送效应”。通过镍离子（Ni ）添加剂，我们发现金属 Ni 优先沉积并引发 Zn 在 Ni 上的 UPD。这有利于 Zn 的牢固成核和均匀生长，同时抑制副反应。此外，在 Zn 剥离后 Ni 会重新溶解回电解液中，而不会影响界面电荷转移电阻。因此，优化后的电池在 1 mA cm 的电流密度下运行超过 900 小时（比空白电池长 4 倍以上）。此外，通过使用 Cr 和 Co 添加剂，我们确定了“护送效应”的普遍性。这项工作将通过控制界面电化学，为各种金属电池激发广泛的原子级原理。
