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The uncontrollable dendrites growth and intricately water-induced side reactions occurred on zinc anode leads to safety issues and poor electrochemical kinetics, which largely limit the widespread application of zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). Herein, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA-2Na) is utilized as an electrolyte additive to strengthen the reversibility and cycling stability of zinc anode. Experimental results and theoretical calculation demonstrate that the EDTA-2Na presents a much stronger coordination with Zn2+ when comparing with H2O molecular, implying the EDTA-2Na is capable to enter the solvation shell of Zn(OH2)62+ and coordinate with Zn2+ ions, thus achieving a flat and smooth zinc deposition with less by-products (Zn4SO4(OH)6·xH2O and H2). Consequently, the zinc symmetric battery with EDTA-2Na additive delivers an excellent cycling stability up to 1800 h under current density of 1 mA cm-2, and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), corrosion, by-product issues are significantly inhibited. Moreover, the rate performance and stability of coin-type and pouch-type Zn||MnO2/graphite batteries are significantly boosted via EDTA-2Na additive (248 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1, 81.3% after 1000 cycles at a A g-1). This kind of electrolyte additive with chelation and desolvation functions shed lights on strategies of improving zinc anode stability for further application of ZIBs.
Cao et al. (Mon,) studied this question.