Zinc-Contained Alloy as a Robustly-Adhered Interfacial Lattice Locking Layer for Planar and Stable Zinc Electrodeposition.

Stable zinc (Zn)/electrolyte interface is critical for developing rechargeable aqueous Zn-metal batteries (AZBs) with long-term stability, which requires the dense and stable Zn electrodeposition. Herein, we construct an interfacial lattice locking (ILL) layer via the electro-co-deposition of Zn and Cu onto the Zn electrodes. The ILL layer shows a low lattice misfit (δ = 0.036) with Zn (002) plane and selectively locks the lattice orientation of Zn deposits, enabling the epitaxial growth of Zn deposits layer by layer. Benefiting from the unique orientation-guiding and robustly-adhered properties, the ILL layer enables the symmetric Zn||Zn cells to achieve an ultra-long lifespan of > 6000 h at 1 mA/cm 2 and 1 mAh/cm 2 , a low overpotential (65 mV) at 10 mAh/cm 2 , and a stable Zn plating/stripping for > 90 h at an ultrahigh Zn discharge depth (DOD Zn = ∼85%). Even with a limited Zn supply and a high current density (8.58 mA/cm 2 ), the ILL@Zn||Ni-doped MnO 2 cells could still survive for > 2300 cycles. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.