Relieving interface corrosion and inducing planar Zn plating achieved by γ-aminobutyric acid towards stable and high-performance Zn ion batteries

Abstract

The practical application of aqueous Zn ion batteries is hindered by dendrite growth and water-induced side reactions. To address these issues, a bifunctional interface stabilizer, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), is introduced as an electrolyte additive to promote uniformly dispersed Zn deposition. Specifically, zincophilic groups (carboxyl and amino group) can adsorb on the Zn surface and guide even ion distribution, effectively avoiding concentrated Zn deposition. In addition, the density functional theory calculations and experimental results reveal that GABA preferentially interacts with the (100) and (101) facets of Zn metal, selectively exposing the (002) plane, which guides the planar growth of Zn. Consequently, the Zn‖Zn symmetric cell demonstrates an extended service life of 3128 hours at 3.0 mA cm⁻² and 1.0 mA h cm⁻², and 618 hours at a high current density of 5 mA cm⁻² and 3.0 mA h cm⁻². Additionally, the Zn‖MnO₂ full cell retains a superior capacity ratio of 57.9% after 200 cycles at 0.5 A g⁻¹. This work presents a novel approach combining interface optimization and crystal plane induction for achieving a highly reversible anode in aqueous Zn ion batteries.