Hetero Nucleus Growth Stabilizing Zinc Anode for High-Biosecurity Zinc-Ion Batteries

Biocompatible devices are widely employed in modernized lives and medical fields in the forms of wearable and implantable devices, raising higher requirements on the battery biocompatibility, high safety, low cost, and excellent electrochemical performance, which become the evaluation criteria toward developing feasible biocompatible batteries. Herein, through conducting the battery implantation tests and leakage scene simulations on New Zealand rabbits, zinc sulfate electrolyte is proved to exhibit higher biosecurity and turns out to be one of the ideal zinc salts for biocompatible zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). Furthermore, in order to mitigate the notorious dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution in mildly acidic electrolyte as well as improve their operating stability, Sn hetero nucleus is introduced to stabilize the zinc anode, which not only facilitates the planar zinc deposition, but also contributes to higher hydrogen evolution overpotential. Finally, a long lifetime of 1500 h for the symmetrical cell, the specific capacity of 150 mAh g⁻¹ under 0.5 A g⁻¹ for the Zn–MnO₂ battery and 212 mAh g⁻¹ under 5 A g⁻¹ for the Zn—NH₄V₄O₁₀ battery are obtained. This work may provide unique perspectives on biocompatible ZIBs toward the biosecurity of their cell components.

© 2023, The Author(s).