Establishing Thermal Infusion Method for Stable Zinc Metal Anodes in Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

Metallic zinc (Zn) having low cost, high capacity, environmentally friendly features is considered to be an attractive anode material for aqueous energy storage devices. However, dendritic growth and severe side reactions restrict the development of Zn-metal anodes. Numerous 3D hosts are extensively explored to settle these issues, whereas the accessible prestoring of Zn metal into structured electrodes is challenging. Here, a thermal infusion strategy is first reported to create a stable composite Zn-based anode. Upon this melting–wetting–cooling process, the metallic Zn is densely and firmly encapsulated in the 3D skeleton, efficiently inhibiting the dendritic growth. Meanwhile, through in/ex situ tests, the formation of ZnO layer on the metallic Zn surface inhibits the hydrogen evolution reactions (1.8 mmol h⁻¹ cm⁻²) and passivation during cycling. Consequently, the electrode enables a long-cycling life of over 1000 cycles at 10 mA cm⁻² in a symmetrical cell. The pouch cells pairing this novel anode and LiMn₂O₄ cathode maintain over 94 mAh g⁻¹ capacity retention after 300 cycles. This research presents an innovative Zn anode structure and extendable prestoring metallic Zn method for aqueous Zn-ion batteries.