The cycling stability of zinc metal anodes (ZMAs) is often hindered by issues including uncontrolled dendritic growth, nonuniform electric field distribution, and parasitic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we report a zinc anode protected by a zinc-tin (ZnSn) alloy layer with a hexagonal porous structure, fabricated via a simple electrochemical etching process in sodium citrate electrolyte followed by an elemental substitution treatment in stannous chloride solution (denoted as SC@ZnSn). This modified anode exhibits an enhanced electrochemical activity and superior corrosion resistance. When paired in an asymmetric cell configuration, the SC@ZnSn anode delivers remarkable cycling stability, maintaining an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.6% over 1800 cycles. Experimental investigations reveal that the hexagonal porous framework provides abundant Zn2+ adsorption sites and promotes uniform ion flux while the zincophilic ZnSn alloy surface effectively lowers the nucleation barrier. These synergistic effects jointly suppress dendrite growth and ensure excellent long-term reversibility. Furthermore, the SC@ZnSn||I2 full cell demonstrates outstanding durability, achieving stable operation for over 4000 cycles at 1 A g-1 while maintaining high capacity retention.
Zhu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.