Practicable Zn metal batteries enabled by ultrastable ferromagnetic interface.

ABSTRACT

Rechargeable zinc (Zn) metal batteries (RZMBs) are demonstrated as sustainable and low-cost alternative in the energy storage industry of the future. However, the elusive Zn deposition behavior and water-originated parasitic reactions bring significant challenges to the fabrication and commercialization of Zn anodes, especially under high plating/stripping capacity. In this work, the ferromagnetic interface in conjunction with the magnetic field (MF) to effectively address these fabrication hurdles is proposed. The introduction of ferromagnetic layer with high chemical durability not only maintains the long-term regulating deposition steadily by magnetic field, but also plays a significant role in preventing side reactions, hence reducing gas production. These merits allow Zn-anode to achieve over 350 h steady Zn-deposition with a depth of discharge (DODZn) up to 82% and translates well to ZnFe-MF||V2O5 full cells, supporting stable cycling at high mass loading of 13.1 mg/cm2, which makes RZMBs configurations promising for commercial applications.