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The commercialization of aqueous Zn‐ion batteries (AZIBs) for power‐grid energy storage systems is hindered by the safety concerns arising from the Zn dendrite growth. The primary approach in addressing this issue is to induce planar depositions. However, modulating the Zn dissolution process which directly reshapes surface morphology and reserves growth sites has long been overlooked. Herein, by utilizing ester compounds as an illustration, it is revealed that engineering the dissolution energy barrier is a pivotal factor in promoting homogeneous Zn dissolution. Ester adsorbents effectively redistribute charge densities at the electrode–electrolyte interface due to the presence of zincophilic ester functional group and conductive π‐conjugation structure. This effect eventually facilitates Zn dissolution across the surface, transforming the potholed and defective dissolution morphology into a smooth and consistent form. Thus, enhanced cycling stability can be achieved in both half‐cells and full‐cells, offering an extensive lifespan of thousands of hours for the dissolution and deposition cycles. This work provides a principle for the selection of Zn dissolution improvers to suppress Zn metal dendrite growth by regulating Zn dissolution behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving reversible plating/stripping of zinc (Zn) anodes is crucial in aqueous Zn‐ion batteries (AZIBs). However, undesired dendrite growth and parasitic side reactions severely deteriorate battery lifespan. The construction of stable protective coating is an effective strategy to enhance anode stability. In this study, a multifunctional nanodiamond (ND) inorganic layer is designed and constructed on both Zn and Cu electrodes that can both effectively inhibit dendrite growth and suppress Zn anode corrosion. Experimental results and theoretical calculations demonstrate that this artificial protective layer, with ultra‐high surface energy, enables the controlled creation of abundant nucleation sites (in the order of 1012 cm−2) for the homogenization of ion flux and electric field on the anode. It is found that zinc ions preferentially adhere to the diamond surfaces with lower diffusion barriers, leading to uniform zinc deposition. A symmetric cell with the ND‐protected Zn (Zn‐ND) anode exhibits reversible plating/stripping behavior for an impressive duration of over 3600 h at 1 mA cm−2. Furthermore, the MnO2||Zn full battery retains 90% of its initial capacity after 3500 cycles at 2 A g−1, and assembled hybrid capacitor operates smoothly over 65 000 cycles at 10 A g−1. These results underscore the potential of this coating as a promising solution for achieving highly stable Zn anodes for aqueous batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The engineering of anode‐electrolyte interphase for highly reversible and dendrite‐free Zn plating‐stripping continues to pose a significant challenge in the progression of aqueous Zn‐ion batteries (AZIBs). In this study, a novel approach is introduced that involves the design of a hierarchical carbon nanotube (CNT)‐based host through functionalization with cetyltrimethylammonium cations (CTA+). This hierarchical host enables dynamically switchable repulsive shielding to regulate Zn plating. The CNT scaffold, featured with high flexibility and conductivity, facilitates expandable accommodation of continuous Zn plating. Concurrently, the entangled CTA+ cations, acting as manipulators to form switchable repulsive shields, dynamically suppress the growth of Zn dendrites, and result in uniform Zn plating within cationic CNT (C‐CNT) hosts. The cationic shielding effect is further elucidated through density functional theory calculations. By incorporating the self‐adaptive C‐CNT host, Zn symmetric cells exhibit an impressively stable cycling lifespan exceeding 6500 h at 1 mA·cm−2 and achieve a cumulative capacity of 6000 mAh·cm−2 at 4 mA·cm−2. Full batteries, by coupling the C‐CNT@Zn anode and MnO2 cathode, demonstrate an 88% capacity retention after 2000 cycles at 2 A·g−1. The design of the self‐adaptive C‐CNT host offers a promising approach in electrode‐electrolyte interphase engineering toward the practical applications of Zn‐based energy storage systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Dissolution Mechanism for Dendrite-Free Aqueous Zinc-Ions Batteries" discusses the issue of dendrite growth in zinc-ion batteries, which affects their cycling stability. The authors, Hou Ian, Junpeng Xie, Guo Hong, and their colleagues, propose the use of adsorptive additives to manipulate zinc dissolution and achieve smooth morphological evolution throughout the battery cycles. This research aims to address the challenges associated with zinc deposition and dissolution in order to improve the performance of zinc-ion batteries. [Extracted from the article]

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) are regarded as promising next‐generation energy storage systems owing to their remarkable theoretical energy density (2600 Wh kg‐1) and low cost. However, sluggish electrochemical kinetics, lithium polysulfides (LiPS) shuttling, and uncontrollable Li dendrite growth seriously hamper the commercial application of LSBs. Herein, dual‐functional 3D interconnected free‐standing fibers embedded with TiO2‐TiN heterostructures as an advanced skeleton are designed for concurrently regulating both the sulfur cathode (S/hollow TiO2‐TiN) and Li anode (Li/solid TiO2‐TiN). As a cathode skeleton, the hollow TiO2‐TiN fibers afford synergistic functions of chemical anchoring, physical confinement, and excellent electrocatalysis for LiPS. Meanwhile, the multifunctional skeleton with remarkable lithiophilicity and high conductivity can accomplish uniform Li deposition and homogeneous Li ion flux for inhibiting the growth of dendrites. Benefiting from these advantages, the full battery (S/hollow TiO2‐TiN || Li/solid TiO2‐TiN) exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, including high cycling stability (988.8 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.5 C) and impressive rate properties (639.3 mAh g−1 at 2 C). This work inaugurates a novel strategy from experimental and theoretical aspects for fabricating LSBs with robust electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liquid electrolyte in conventional zinc/manganese dioxide (Zn/MnO2) batteries conduces to the capacity limitation of one‐electron redox from MnO2 to MnOOH, as well as undesired Mn loss with capacity deterioration. Herein, to conquer these challenges, a new idea is proposed on the precise proton redistribution in the hydrogel electrolyte for the preferred two‐electron redox reaction. Specifically, an acidic layer in the hydrogel adjoins the MnO2 cathode to maintain the two‐electron redox, a neutral layer adjoins the zinc anode to inhibit the dendrite growth, which is separated by a mildly alkaline layer to immobilize the proton distribution. The two‐electron redox of MnO2/Mn2+ and anode protection are demonstrated to play key roles in battery performance. Such a battery presents specific capacities of 516 mA h g−1 at 0.05 A g−1, as well as a capacity retention of 93.18% at 5 A g−1 after 5000 cycles without extra Mn2+ addition in the electrolyte. More importantly, fibrous Zn/MnO2 batteries using the tri‐layer electrolyte can sustain 2000 cycles with high initial capacity of 235 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1. After 6000 times folding in 180°, it can maintain 99.54% capacity. When integrated into user's clothing or portable accessories, the fibrous battery is demonstrated as a great potential in wearable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most promising candidates in wearable energy storage devices, aqueous fibrous zinc metal batteries (AFZMBs) remain limited by some severe challenges, such as short life span and unstable capacity performance, etc. In this work, the stability of AFZMB is extended by fabricating an innovative stratified deposition framework (SDF) anode. The as‐prepared SDF electrode can achieve a stratified deposition of Zn metals from the bottom layer to the top layer due to the different overpotentials and binding energy of Zn deposition. Compared with commercial Zn fibers, this dexterous structure provides enough deposition space for Zn metals between the separator and the electrode, dramatically alleviating conventional dendrite puncture and prolonging life expectancy by an order of magnitude. It is found that SDF/AFZMB exhibits a long circulation of 2000 cycles with 89.0% capacity retention at 5 C with superior flexibility, demonstrating potential for application in future wearable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise Proton Redistribution for Two-Electron Redox in Aqueous Zinc/Manganese Dioxide Batteries (Adv. Keywords: fibrous Zn/MnO 2 batteries; high specific capacity; hydrogel electrolytes; prolonged cycling stability; two-electron redox EN fibrous Zn/MnO 2 batteries high specific capacity hydrogel electrolytes prolonged cycling stability two-electron redox 1 1 1 11/08/21 20211104 NES 211104 B Zn/MnO SB 2 sb Batteries b In article number 2102055, Yagang Yao, Guo Hong and co-workers develop a tri-layer hydrogel electrolyte to precisely redistribute protons in aqueous zinc/MnO SB 2 sb batteries, which synchronously triggers two-electron redox of MnO SB 2 sb /Mn SP 2+ sp at the cathode and zinc protection at the anode. Fibrous Zn/MnO 2 batteries, high specific capacity, hydrogel electrolytes, prolonged cycling stability, two-electron redox. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: aqueous electrolyte; fibrous zinc battery; flexibility; prolonged cycling; stratified deposition framework EN aqueous electrolyte fibrous zinc battery flexibility prolonged cycling stratified deposition framework 1 1 1 04/29/21 20210428 NES 210428 In article number 2100214, Yagang Yao, Guo Hong and co-workers improve the cycling stability of the aqueous fibrous zinc metal batteries by controlling the zinc deposition priority from bottom to surface in an innovative stratified deposition framework anode, which minimizes the growth of zinc dendrites and boosts the development of wearable devices. Aqueous electrolyte, fibrous zinc battery, flexibility, prolonged cycling, stratified deposition framework Zinc Metal Batteries: Stratified Zinc-Binding Strategy toward Prolonged Cycling and Flexibility of Aqueous Fibrous Zinc Metal Batteries (Adv. [Extracted from the article]