Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries (RAZBs) represent a sustainable, environmentally benign, cost-efficient energy storage solution for the scaled renewable power system. However, the cycling endurance and temperature adaptability of RAZBs are hindered by practical technological barriers such as the subzero freezing point of aqueous electrolyte, severe cation dissolution of the cathode, and dendrite growth on the Zn anode. Herein, we optimize the hybrid electrolyte formulation of 8 M ZnCl 2 in the ethylene glycol-water mixed solvent to reconfigure the hydrogen bonding and Zn(H 2 O) 1.80 (EG) 0.23 2+ solvation sheath, which well balances the ionic conductivity and the antifreezing property until −125 °C. As monitored by operando X-ray diffraction, meanwhile, the structural dissolution of the V 2 O 5 cathode upon the dynamic cycling and static idling storage at elevated temperature are effectively restrained. At the anode side, the thermally induced substitution between the Ag 2 Se overcoating and Zn foil in situ constructs the site-selective, mosaic interface layer, in which the solvophilic ZnSe facilitates the desolvation, while the Ag species provide zincophilic nucleation sites for high-throughput Zn deposition. The synergistic coupling of the antifreezing electrolyte and anode interfacial design enables the wide-temperature-range adaptability of the RAZB prototype (10 μm Zn foil and 1 mAh cm –2 V 2 O 5 cathode), which balances the cycling endurance (92.5% capacity retention rate for 1000 cycles), 84.7% mitigation of the self-discharge rate at 55 °C, as well as the secured cyclability even at −40 °C.
Xue et al. (2023) studied this question.