Abstract
Aqueous zinc ion batteries are often adversely affected by the poor stability of zinc metal anodes. Persistent water-induced side reactions and uncontrolled dendrite growth have seriously damaged the long-term service life of aqueous zinc ion batteries. In this paper, it is reported that a zinc sulfide with optimized electron arrangement on the surface of zinc anode is used to modify the zinc anode to achieve long-term cycle stability of zinc anode. The effective active sites of the zinc metal anode surface are first significantly improved by a simple ultrasound-assisted etching strategy, and then the in situ zinc sulfide interface phase further guides the zinc ion deposition behavior on the surface of the zinc metal anode. The zinc sulfide protective layer well regulates the interfacial electric field and the migration of Zn(2+), thereby significantly promoting the homogenization of zinc ion flux to achieve dendrite-free deposition. In addition, the aqueous zinc ion full cell assembled based on ZnS@3D-Zn anode achieves better output performance in long-term cycles. In summary, this work sheds light on the importance of reasonable interfacial modification for the development of dendrite-free and stable zinc anode chemistry, which opens up a new path for promoting the development of zinc-based batteries.