A dendrite-free Zn anode enabled by PEDOT:PSS/MoS2 electrokinetic channels for aqueous Zn-ion batteries

Abstract

Notorious Zn dendrites and severe parasitic side reactions severely disrupt the anode–electrolyte interface during Zn plating/stripping, resulting in uncontrollable Zn deposition and limiting the application of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). Although the construction of an artificial interface is a highly desirable strategy, it is often limited by slow Zn²⁺ transport kinetics. To address these issues, we present a bifunctional polymer coating (PEPM) constructed from highly conductive PEDOT:PSS and monolayer MoS₂, where the introduced PEDOT plays an important role in driving the fast Zn ion transfer kinetics as a zincophilic site and 2D MoS₂ acts as a buffer layer to induce uniform Zn nucleation. With this corrosion inhibition and nucleation-oriented coating, the mobility of Zn²⁺ flux and the uniformity of Zn deposition were significantly improved, resulting in a stable plating/stripping performance at an ultra-low overpotential (<50 mV) of 2000 h and a high average coulombic efficiency (>99.4%) of 1000 cycles without significant dendrite formation. The proposed strategy provides a cost-efficient remedy and opens a new avenue for the development of dendrite-free zinc anodes.