Recently, Professor Liu Zonglin from the School of Resources and Materials at Qinhuangdao Campus published a paper titled “Interfacial Chemical Regulation of Zinc Anodes: Constructing Kinetic Repair Zones” as the first author in Advanced Functional Materials, an internationally renowned journal in materials science (Chinese Academy of Sciences Q1 journal, Impact Factor: 19.0). Professor Yi Tingfeng from NEU Qinhuangdao Campus and Xu Qiong, Specially Appointed Associate Researcher from Anhui University of Architecture, are the corresponding authors of the paper. NEU is the first completion unit.
This paper systematically reviews recent research advances in zinc metal anodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries, focusing on three core aspects: failure mechanisms, interfacial electrochemical principles, and multidimensional synergistic regulation strategies. The paper breaks away from the traditional linear "problem-solution" narrative framework and innovatively introduces the scientific perspective of "interfacial chemical environment regulation." The failure issues of zinc anodes, including dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution reaction, and interfacial passivation, are attributed to the coupled effects of their inherent thermodynamic instability and dynamic instability. Building upon this foundation, the paper further proposes collaborative design principles for constructing "dynamic repair zones." It systematically elucidates three core regulatory dimensions—ion flux modulation, interfacial chemical modification, and nucleation/growth behavior guidance—along with their intrinsic interconnections. This provides systematic theoretical guidance for the rational design and engineered development of high-performance zinc anodes. Finally, the paper conducts an in-depth analysis of critical issues within the current research framework, including material-centric thinking and the disconnect between idealized experimental conditions and practical demands. It proposes several feasible recommendations and future development directions, such as advancing in-situ characterization and multiscale simulation techniques, establishing application-oriented standardized evaluation systems, unraveling synergistic and antagonistic mechanisms among multiple strategies, advancing anode-free designs and system-level innovations. These efforts aim to provide strategic insights for accelerating the translation of research outcomes into practical applications, thereby hastening the transition of aqueous zinc-ion batteries from laboratory research to large-scale energy storage deployment. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, and the Central Universities Basic Research Fund.
