Molecular Engineering‐Enabled Self‐Adaptive Topological Adsorption Interface: Synergistic Hydrophobic Nanoconfinement and Electrostatic Shielding for Highly Stable Zn Anode

ABSTRACT The Zn metal anodes suffer from severe side reactions and uncontrolled dendrite growth, limiting their practical application. To stabilize the Zn anode, a novel dynamic self‐adaptive dual‐ion stabilization mechanism is developed via in‐situ self‐assembly of multifunctional Oktakis (tetramethylammonium)‐T 8 ‐silsesquioxane (TMA‐POSS) topological molecular additives. In the electrolyte, TMA‐POSS dissociates into tetramethyl quaternary ammonium (TMA + ) cations and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane [T 8 (Si‐O) 8 8− ] anions. TMA + preferentially adsorbs on the Zn surface, forming an inner self‐healing electrostatic shielding layer that ensures uniform Zn nucleation and deposition. Concurrently, T 8 (Si‐O) 8 8− self‐organizes into a hydrophobic nanoconfined buffer layer, which synergistically regulates Zn 2+ /SO 4 2− migration, promotes [Zn(H 2 O) 6 ] 2+ desolvation, and restricts H 2 O penetration, thereby suppressing space charge layer‐introduced dendrite growth and side reactions. More notably, this self‐assembled dual‐ion layer dynamically adapts to interfacial changes without degradation, exhibiting high stability and non‐sacrificial nature. Consequently, the Zn anode delivers exceptional reversibility 4700 h, and 99.6% Coulombic efficiency over 2110 cycles. Zn//MnO 2 and Zn//V 2 O 5 full cells deliver outstanding capacity retentions of 81.2% (1700 cycles at 1 A g −1 ) and 80.1% (2500 cycles at 10 A g −1 ), respectively. This work pioneers a novel multifunctional dual‐ion interface based on topological molecular engineering, providing a feasible strategy to advance the practical application of aqueous zinc‐ion batteries.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-03-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.74981
Primary Topic
Advanced battery technologies research
Type
article
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article

Molecular Engineering‐Enabled Self‐Adaptive Topological Adsorption Interface: Synergistic Hydrophobic Nanoconfinement and Electrostatic Shielding for Highly Stable Zn Anode

Ling Zhu, Jing Tang, Dan Li, Jing Li et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced battery technologies research
article

Molecular Engineering‐Enabled Self‐Adaptive Topological Adsorption Interface: Synergistic Hydrophobic Nanoconfinement and Electrostatic Shielding for Highly Stable Zn Anode

Ling Zhu, Jing Tang, Dan Li, Jing Li, Zihan Zhu, Y. S. Zhu, Huibing He, Liya Wang, Chang Yan, Peng Li
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Zn metal anodes suffer from severe side reactions and uncontrolled dendrite growth, limiting their practical application. To stabilize the Zn anode, a novel dynamic self‐adaptive dual‐ion stabilization mechanism is developed via in‐situ self‐assembly of multifunctional Oktakis (tetramethylammonium)‐T 8 ‐silsesquioxane (TMA‐POSS) topological molecular additives. In the electrolyte, TMA‐POSS dissociates into tetramethyl quaternary ammonium (TMA + ) cations and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane [T 8 (Si‐O) 8 8− ] anions. TMA + preferentially adsorbs on the Zn surface, forming an inner self‐healing electrostatic shielding layer that ensures uniform Zn nucleation and deposition. Concurrently, T 8 (Si‐O) 8 8− self‐organizes into a hydrophobic nanoconfined buffer layer, which synergistically regulates Zn 2+ /SO 4 2− migration, promotes [Zn(H 2 O) 6 ] 2+ desolvation, and restricts H 2 O penetration, thereby suppressing space charge layer‐introduced dendrite growth and side reactions. More notably, this self‐assembled dual‐ion layer dynamically adapts to interfacial changes without degradation, exhibiting high stability and non‐sacrificial nature. Consequently, the Zn anode delivers exceptional reversibility 4700 h, and 99.6% Coulombic efficiency over 2110 cycles. Zn//MnO 2 and Zn//V 2 O 5 full cells deliver outstanding capacity retentions of 81.2% (1700 cycles at 1 A g −1 ) and 80.1% (2500 cycles at 10 A g −1 ), respectively. This work pioneers a novel multifunctional dual‐ion interface based on topological molecular engineering, providing a feasible strategy to advance the practical application of aqueous zinc‐ion batteries.

Advanced Functional Materials
Guangxi University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 19%
Advanced battery technologies research
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