Molecular Configuration Engineering of Electrolyte Additives Enables Adaptive Zinc Anodes and Highly Reversible Zn‐S Batteries

ABSTRACT Aqueous zinc−sulfur batteries (AZSBs) suffer from zinc anode parasitic reactions and slow sulfur cathode kinetics. In this study, we propose a coupled spatial−electronic configuration effect strategy. By selecting additive molecules with different spatial−electronic configurations, we successfully revealed the influence of molecular spatial−electronic configuration on the electrode–electrolyte interfacial adsorption layer. The spatial−electronic configuration of benzyltrimethylammonium iodide (BTA) enables the formation of a stable adsorption layer at the anode interface, showing an effectively repulsive effect on hydrated protons and suppressing side reactions. Moreover, BTA is a dual‐functional additive, and the I − ions released from BTA further catalyze sulfur redox conversion, thereby enhancing the capacity of Zn–S batteries. As a result, this functional additive electrolyte enables stable cycling for over 10000 h in Zn||Zn symmetric cells, the Zn||Cu cells exhibit an extended cycle life of over 3800 cycles with an average CE exceeding 99.44%, and Zn−S full cells deliver 422 mAh g −1 after 4000 cycles at 3 A g −1 . This study demonstrates a holistic electrolyte design strategy for highly reversible AZSBs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2026-10-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.75233
Primary Topic
Advanced battery technologies research
Type
article
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article

Molecular Configuration Engineering of Electrolyte Additives Enables Adaptive Zinc Anodes and Highly Reversible Zn‐S Batteries

Guiyin Xu, Xiaoqing Zhu, Minghui Shan, Zhang Cao et al.
Advanced Materials
Advanced battery technologies research
article

Molecular Configuration Engineering of Electrolyte Additives Enables Adaptive Zinc Anodes and Highly Reversible Zn‐S Batteries

Guiyin Xu, Xiaoqing Zhu, Minghui Shan, Zhang Cao, Meifang Zhu, Jia Zhang, Long Yu, Yinfeng Guo, Qingjing Shi
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aqueous zinc−sulfur batteries (AZSBs) suffer from zinc anode parasitic reactions and slow sulfur cathode kinetics. In this study, we propose a coupled spatial−electronic configuration effect strategy. By selecting additive molecules with different spatial−electronic configurations, we successfully revealed the influence of molecular spatial−electronic configuration on the electrode–electrolyte interfacial adsorption layer. The spatial−electronic configuration of benzyltrimethylammonium iodide (BTA) enables the formation of a stable adsorption layer at the anode interface, showing an effectively repulsive effect on hydrated protons and suppressing side reactions. Moreover, BTA is a dual‐functional additive, and the I − ions released from BTA further catalyze sulfur redox conversion, thereby enhancing the capacity of Zn–S batteries. As a result, this functional additive electrolyte enables stable cycling for over 10000 h in Zn||Zn symmetric cells, the Zn||Cu cells exhibit an extended cycle life of over 3800 cycles with an average CE exceeding 99.44%, and Zn−S full cells deliver 422 mAh g −1 after 4000 cycles at 3 A g −1 . This study demonstrates a holistic electrolyte design strategy for highly reversible AZSBs.

Advanced Materials
Donghua University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 22%
Advanced battery technologies research
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