Electrolyte Strategies Toward Optimizing Zn Anode for Zinc-Ion Batteries

Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) with low cost and high safety have become potential candidates for large-scale energy storage. However, the knotty Zn anode issues such as dendritic growth, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and corrosion and passivation are still unavoidable, which greatly limits the wide applications of ZIBs. The states and additives of electrolytes are closely related to these problems. However, there is a lack of systematic understanding and discussion about the intrinsic connection between the states and additives of electrolyte and Zn anode issues. In this review, the basic principles of dendritic growth, HER and corrosion and passivation are firstly introduced, and then, electrolyte optimization strategies with the corresponding electrochemical properties are systematically summarized. In particular, the action mechanism of electrolyte additives and the electrolyte states for Zn anode optimization is analyzed in detail. Finally, some unique views on the improvement of electrolyte for Zn anode optimization are put forward, which is expected to provide a certain professional reference for designing high-performance ZIBs.