Bi‐Functional Green Additive Anchoring Interface Enables Stable Zinc Metal Anodes for Aqueous Zinc‐Ions Batteries

Abstract As one of the most promising anodes for aqueous batteries, Zn metal faces uncontrollable side reactions and deleterious dendrite growth, which drastically compromise its cycle life and coulombic efficiency (CE). In this work, a bi‐functional and environmentally‐friendly high‐performance electrolyte is prepared by introducing maleic anhydride (MA) as an additive. In situ/ex situ experiments and simulation indicate that MA can enter the Zn²⁺ solvated sheath to replace the distribution of some water molecules and form a cross‐linked hydrogen bond network with H₂O to inhibit the side reactions caused by the decomposition of active water molecules. In addition, MA can induce uniform deposition of Zn by adsorption on Zn (002) crystal surface and inhibit dendrite growth. The symmetric cells assembled with MA as the electrolyte additive have a long cycle life of 4000 h at 25 °C and can be stably cycled for >400 h at −8 °C (1 mA cm⁻²/1 mAh cm⁻²). In the presence of MA in the electrolyte, Zn//MnO₂ full cell shows good cycle stability over 200 cycles (N/P = 4.1). This study reports a simple and effective strategy for promoting the commercial application of aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (AZIBs).