<i>In Situ</i> Alloying Sites Anchored on an Amorphous Aluminum Nitride Matrix for Crystallographic Reorientation of Zinc Deposits

Abstract

Secondary aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are considered as one of the promising energy storage devices, but their widespread application is limited by the Zn dendrite issues. In this work, we propose a rational design of surface protective coatings to solve this problem. Specifically, a silver (Ag) nanoparticle embedded amorphous AlN matrix (AlN/Ag) protective layer is developed. The former would alloy <i>in situ</i> with Zn to form AgZn₃ alloy sites, which subsequently induce the Zn deposition with preferred (002) facets. The latter can effectively alleviate the structural expansion during repeated Zn plating/stripping. Consequently, the delicately designed AlN/Ag@Zn anode delivers an enhanced stability with a long lifespan of more than 2600 h at 1 mA cm^-2 and 1 mAh cm^-2. Moreover, the AlN/Ag@Zn||Mn_1.4V₁₀O₂₄·<i>n</i>H₂O full batteries can be operated for over 8000 cycles under 5 A g^-1. Our work not only suggests a promising Zn anode protective coating but also provides a general strategy for the rational design of surface protective layers for metal anodes.