Differentiated Adsorption Modulation of Microdose Additive Enhances Stability and Kinetics in Zinc‐Ion Batteries
ABSTRACT Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (AZIBs) offer a promising alternative for large‐scale stationary energy storage due to their low cost, high safety, and environmental benignity. However, issues such as dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution, and corrosion at the zinc anode severely limit practical deployment. Here, an adsorption‐differential design strategy is proposed, by which low‐cost biomass‐derived polydextrose (PD) with a microdose of 0.01 m has been identified as an optimal electrolyte additive. Distinctively, PD exhibits zincophilic adsorption on the zinc surface for interfacial reconstruction while remaining Zn 2+ ‐phobic in the bulk electrolyte, thereby preserving the pristine [Zn(H 2 O) 6 ] 2+ solvation structure and high ionic conductivity. This dual characteristic simultaneously suppresses side reactions and regulates Zn 2+ deposition along the (002) plane to inhibit dendrite formation. Consequently, the strategy resolves the long‐standing trade‐off between cycling stability and reaction kinetics. Using PD‐modified ZnSO 4 as electrolyte, Zn||Zn symmetric cells achieve outstanding cycling stability of over 2100 h at 2 mA cm ‒2 and 1350 h at 4 mA cm ‒2 . Moreover, Zn||PANI/CNT full cells deliver 81.0% capacity retention after 1300 cycles, markedly outperforming cells containing pure ZnSO 4 electrolyte. This work provides a cost‐effective and scalable pathway to improve the electrochemical performance of AZIBs for practical applications.
Authors
- X.C. Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5981-2762)
- G Xu
- Yaming Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9846-8984)
- Ying Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6009-4748)
- Shuyang Zheng
- Xu K
- R. Cao
- Sun Y
- Shichuang Huang
- Huohong Zhong
- Haohan Chen
- Qiying Wang
- Chengtao Zheng
- Lifeng Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2732-7399)
- Shicheng Sheng
- Nan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1744-587X)
Institutions
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Lanzhou University of Technology (CN)
- Dongguan University of Technology (CN)
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2026-05-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.73974
- Primary Topic
- Advanced battery technologies research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Guangdong Innovative and Entrepreneurial Research Team Program
- Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China