ABSTRACT Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries are promising for large‐scale energy storage due to their safety and cost‐effectiveness. The industrial application of zinc metal anodes is impeded by challenges, including dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution reaction, and interfacial passivation. Current research, though abundant in strategies, lacks a unified scientific framework, leading to fragmented progress. This review examines strategies for managing the chemical environment at the interface. The failure of zinc anodes is due to thermodynamic instability, which is evident through side reactions, and kinetic heterogeneity, as demonstrated by the random growth of dendrites. This article provides a systematic review of the fundamental mechanisms of strategies across three principal dimensions: ion flux regulation, interfacial chemistry modulation, and nucleation/growth control. Examples include ion flow regulation for uniform Zn 2+ transport and electric field uniformity, interface chemistry regulation to minimize water activity and side reactions, artificial solid electrolyte interphase construction, solvation structure reconstruction, and regulation of nucleation and growth for dense deposition through heterogeneous nucleation and interfacial energy optimization. This review highlights antagonistic effects in multi‐strategy synergy and critiques the materials‐first trap, along with the misleading nature of unrealistic experimental conditions. Finally, it offers an overview of essential avenues for practical application.
Liu et al. (2026) studied this question.