Aqueous electrolyte additives for zinc-ion batteries

Because of their high safety, low cost, and high volumetric specific capacity, zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are considered promising next-generation energy storage devices, especially given their high potential for large-scale energy storage. Despite these advantages, many problems remain for ZIBs—such as Zn dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution, and Zn anode corrosion—which significantly reduce the coulomb efficiency and reversibility of the battery and limit its cycle lifespan, resulting in much uncertainty in terms of its practical applications. Numerous electrolyte additives have been proposed in recent years to solve the aforementioned problems. This review focuses on electrolyte additives and discusses the different substances employed as additives to overcome the problems by altering the Zn2+ solvation structure, creating a protective layer at the anode–electrolyte interface, and modulating the Zn2+ distribution to be even and Zn deposition to be uniform. On the basis of the review, the possible research strategies, future directions of electrolyte additive development, and the existing problems to be solved are also described. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of the IMMT.