Recently, Professor Chen Qinghua and Professor Zeng Lingxing of College of Environmental Science and Engineering of FNU and Dr. Xiong Peixun of Sungkyunkwan University of Republic of Korea jointly researched and proposed that the introduction of a trace amount of ammonium acetate (CH3COONH4), which is a trifunctional electrolyte additive, in the conventional aqueous ZnSO4 electrolyte, through the preferential adsorption of NH4+ and CH3COO– on the surface of Zn metal anode, their pH buffering effect, and their promotion in the formation of the solid electrolyte interphases (SEI) with a high Zn2+ transference number, results in an increase in the stability of the Zn electrode/electrolyte interface, and a significant increase in the electrochemical reversibility of Zn anode at the ultrahigh current density of 40 mA cm–2 at the low-temperature of −10 °C and a dramatic increase in the cycling performance of different zinc-based energy storage devices such as Zn||MnO2 full cells and Zn||AC capacitors. This study provides new insights into the design of multifunctional electrolyte additives and effectively prolongs the cycle life of aqueous Zn-ion batteries at ultra-high current density. Entitled “High-Rate, Large Capacity, and Long Life Dendrite-Free Zn Metal Anode Enabled by Trifunctional Electrolyte Additive with a Wide Temperature Range”, the research result was published in the international authoritative journal Advanced Science, with FNU as the first organization, Lin Chuyuan, a master student of 2020-class of FNU, as the first author, Professor Chen Qinghua, Professor Zeng Lingxing and Professor Xiong Peixun as the corresponding authors and Dr. Yang Xuhui and Researcher Qian Qingrong as participants in the work.
This work was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Young Top Talent of Fujian Young Eagle Program, and the Natural Science Foundation of Distinguished Young Scholars for Fujian Province.
(Translated by Liao Danyan/ Reviewed by Xie Xiujuan)