Research progress on three-dimensional zinc anodes in aqueous zinc-ion batteries

ZHU Xiaodong; TANG Lijun; WU Jiao; GAO Jian; YUAN Zaifang

doi:10.13732/j.issn.1008-5548.2026.01.005

Abstract：Significance Energy storage,including mechanical,electromagnetic,and electrochemical energy storage,has garnered sub-stantial scientific and technological attention due to its great application potential in material processing,chemical and biomo-lecular sensing,security,and other industrial sectors.Specifically,electrochemical energy storage is largely employed in aero-space,power systems,electric vehicles,and portable electronic products,owing to their mature technology and broad commer-cial applicability.In the past decades,electrochemical energy storage devices have advanced substantially,accelerated by machine learning-assisted material discovery and advanced operando characterization techniques.These innovations have pro-vided an ideal platform for lithium-ion battery(LIB)research and numerous studies have been conducted on cathode and anode materials.However,LIBs still fail to offer truly sustainable and universally accessible energy storage solutions,primarily because of unresolved safety concerns and environmental issues.In this context,aqueous zinc-ion batteries(AZIBs)have emerged as a highly promising alternative.AZIBs are renowned for their excellent safety,abundant resource availability,and reliable chemical stability.These advantages make them a focal research topic for energy storage in recent years. Progress To date,three primary interface-regulation mechanisms have been developed forZn anodes in AZIBs:(1)regulating Zn deposition/stripping kinetics,(2)selective orientation growth of crystal planes,and(3)constructing artificial solid electro-lyte interface(SEI)layers.The earliest approach,uniform Zn deposition via a 3D porous structure,was first introduced in 2014 by Debra R.Rolison et al.,who created a 3D zinc sponge anode from zinc powder and emulsion.This anode featured a porous,integral,and aperiodic structure.Subsequently,different 3D Zn sponge anodes were introduced into AZIBs with improved cycle stability and safety.However,all these anodes were constrained by connectivity loss in powder-composite electrodes,leading to localized high current density and dendrite formation,as reported by Chamoun et al.using hyper-dendritic nanoporous Zn foam.In 2019,the technique evolved to plated Zn anodes on different substrates.Su et al.introduced holey metal nanotube membranes as high-performance electrode scaffolds for energy storage.Since then,numerous efforts have been made to optimize 3D Zn anodes through SEI engineering,alloying strategies,and 3D printing.A notable achievement was reported by Zhang et al.,where a new type of 3D Zn anode was fabricated by combining 3D printing,chemical deposition,and electrodeposition.More recently,in 2022,Gu et al.designed a surface-engineered forest-like 3D Zn-Cu alloy anode in dual-cation electrolytes,which effectively regulated plating/stripping kinetics and inhibited dendrite growth on the anode surface.Subsequently,the Zn alloys were applied in AZIBs.To simplify the electroplating process,Fan et al.used an alternative 3D Zn-Sn-Pb alloy anode to establish a single Zn metal anode that eliminated both dendritic growth and corrosion reactions. Conclusions and Prospects The past decade has seen great progress in AZIBs,enabling a range of new applications.Different mechanisms,such as 3D porous structures,surface-coating technologies,and Zn alloying strategies,have been incorporated into the 3D Zn anode design with optimized cycle stability and safety.However,traditional Zn anode systems still suffer from uncontrolled Zn dendrite growth,intensified hydrogen evolution reactions(HER),and corrosion/passivation layer rupture.These issues lead to poor Coulombic efficiency and limited cycle life,particularly due to the non-uniformity of interfacial ion transport at high current densities(＞40 mA/cm2)or deep discharge depths(＞80％DOD).To address these issues,the develop-ment of advanced 3D Zn anodes represents a key research direction in the future.In addition,the volumetric energy density of AZIBs is significantly lower than that of LIBs,necessitating improvements in techniques and design.Beyond structural optimiza-tion,in-depth interdisciplinary applications of AZIBs are also a crucial research direction.