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Construction of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) of zinc (Zn) electrode is an effective strategy to stabilize Zn electrode/electrolyte interface. However, single-layer SEIs of Zn electrodes undergo rupture and consequent failure during repeated Zn plating/stripping. Here, we propose the construction of a robust bilayer SEI that simultaneously achieves homogeneous Zn 2+ transport and durable mechanical stability for high Zn utilization rate (ZUR) and Coulombic efficiency (CE) of Zn electrode by adding 1,3-Dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone as a representative electrolyte additive. This bilayer SEI on Zn surface consists of a crystalline ZnCO 3 -rich outer layer and an amorphous ZnS-rich inner layer. The ordered outer layer improves the mechanical stability during cycling, and the amorphous inner layer homogenizes Zn 2+ transport for homogeneous, dense Zn deposition. As a result, the bilayer SEI enables reversible Zn plating/stripping for 4800 cycles with an average CE of 99.95% (± 0.06%). Meanwhile, Zn | |Zn symmetric cells show durable lifetime for over 550 h with a high ZUR of 98% under an areal capacity of 28.4 mAh cm -2 . Furthermore, the Zn full cells based on the bilayer SEI functionalized Zn negative electrodes coupled with different positive electrodes all exhibit stable cycling performance under high ZUR., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The development of Zn-free anodes to inhibit Zn dendrite formation and modulate high-capacity Zn batteries is highly applauded yet very challenging. Here, we design a robust two-dimensional antimony/antimony-zinc alloy heterostructured interface to regulate Zn plating. Benefiting from the stronger adsorption and homogeneous electric field distribution of the Sb/Sb 2 Zn 3 -heterostructured interface in Zn plating, the Zn anode enables an ultrahigh areal capacity of 200 mAh cm -2 with an overpotential of 112 mV and a Coulombic efficiency of 98.5%. An anode-free Zn-Br 2 battery using the Sb/Sb 2 Zn 3 -heterostructured interface@Cu anode shows an attractive energy density of 274 Wh kg -1  with a practical pouch cell energy density of 62 Wh kg -1 . The scaled-up Zn-Br 2 battery in a capacity of 500 mAh exhibits over 400 stable cycles. Further, the Zn-Br 2 battery module in an energy of 9 Wh (6 V, 1.5 Ah) is integrated with a photovoltaic panel to demonstrate the practical renewable energy storage capabilities. Our superior anode-free Zn batteries enabled by the heterostructured interface enlighten an arena towards large-scale energy storage applications., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Conventional electric double-layer capacitors are energy storage devices with a high specific power and extended cycle life. However, the low energy content of this class of devices acts as a stumbling block to widespread adoption in the energy storage field. To circumvent the low-energy drawback of electric double-layer capacitors, here we report the assembly and testing of a hybrid device called electrocatalytic hydrogen gas capacitor containing a hydrogen gas negative electrode and a carbon-based positive electrode. This device operates using pH-universal aqueous electrolyte solutions (i.e., from 0 to 14) in a wide temperature range (i.e., from - 70 °C to 60 °C). In particular, we report specific energy and power of 45 Wh kg -1 and 458 W kg -1 (both values based on the electrodes' active materials mass), respectively, at 1 A g -1 and 25 °C with 9 M H 3 PO 4 electrolyte solution. The device also enables capacitance retention of 85% (final capacitance of about 114 F g -1 ) after 100,000 cycles at 10 A g -1 and 25 °C with 1 M phosphate buffer electrolyte solution., (© 2022. The Author(s).)