Stable Zn Metal Anodes with Limited Zn-Doping in MgF₂ Interphase for Fast and Uniformly Ionic Flux

The practical applications of aqueous Zn metal batteries are currently restricted by the inherent drawbacks of Zn such as the hydrogen evolution reaction, sluggish kinetics, and dendrite formation. To address these problems, herein, a limitedly Zn-doped MgF₂ interphase comprising an upper region of pure, porous MgF₂ and a lower region of gradient Zn-doped MgF₂ is achieved via radio frequency sputtering technique. The porous MgF₂ region is a polar insulator whose high corrosion resistance facilitates the de-solvation of the solvated Zn ions and suppression of hydrogen evolution, resulting in Zn metal electrodes with a low interfacial resistance. The Zn-doped MgF₂ region facilitates fast transfer kinetics and homogeneous deposition of Zn ions owing to the interfacial polarization between the Zn dopant and MgF₂ matrix, and the high concentration of the Zn dopant on the surface of the metal substrate as fine nuclei. Consequently, a symmetric cell incorporating the proposed Zn metal exhibits low overpotentials of ~ 27.2 and ~ 99.7 mV without Zn dendrites over 250 to 8000 cycles at current densities of 1.0 and 10.0 mA cm⁻², respectively. The developed Zn/MnO₂ full cell exhibits superior capacity retentions of 97.5% and 84.0% with average Coulombic efficiencies of 99.96% after 1000 and 3000 cycles, respectively.[Figure not available: see fulltext.]