Breaking the Water Activity Barrier: Hydrated Eutectic Electrolytes for Long-Cycling and Wide-Temperature Zinc-Ion Batteries

Tang, JC; Dai, ZQ; Yang, CW; Chanajaree, R; Okhawilai, M; Pattananuwat, P; Rajendran, S; Zhang, XY; Qin, JQ

Keywords: dendrite-free deposition, hydrated eutectic electrolyte, wide temperature range, zinc-ion batteries, Zn anode

Abstract

The high activity of water molecules in aqueous electrolytes drives detrimental side reactions and Zn dendrite growth, severely limiting the practical application of zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs). Herein, a biocompatible hydrated eutectic electrolyte is designed to fundamentally confine water activity and reconstruct the Zn2+ solvation structure. The Ch+ cations in choline chloride (ChCl) and glucose integrate into the primary solvation sheath of Zn2+, displacing coordinated water molecules and reducing the coordination number from 6 to 3.2. This unique solvation structure, combined with water molecules confined within the robust ChCl-glucose eutectic hydrogen-bonding network, effectively suppresses the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), corrosion, and dendrite formation. Consequently, Zn//Zn symmetric cell achieves exceptional cycling stability of 2000 h at 1 mA cm?2. Additionally, the Zn//PANI full cells deliver 82.6% capacity retention after 2000 cycles at 3 A g?1 and a remarkable power density of 8303.29 W kg?1 at 10 A g?1. Critically, the low glass transition temperature of the eutectic network enables stable operation across an ultra-wide temperature range (from ?20 to 50 °C), overcoming a major limitation of conventional aqueous ZIBs. This work demonstrates a potent strategy of water confinement and solvation engineering via hydrated eutectic electrolytes for practical, high-performance, and temperature-resilient ZIBs. © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Más información

Título según WOS: Breaking the Water Activity Barrier: Hydrated Eutectic Electrolytes for Long-Cycling and Wide-Temperature Zinc-Ion Batteries
Título según SCOPUS: Breaking the Water Activity Barrier: Hydrated Eutectic Electrolytes for Long-Cycling and Wide-Temperature Zinc-Ion Batteries
Título de la Revista: Advanced Functional Materials
Editorial: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Fecha de publicación: 2025
Idioma: English
DOI:

10.1002/adfm.202515911

Notas: ISI, SCOPUS