Advances in anode modification strategies for aqueous zinc ion batteries

Aqueous zinc ion batteries have become a promising large-scale energy storage technology because of their high safety, high ionic conductivity, high theoretical specific capacity, and low cost. However, the improvement of cycle life and the promotion of practical applications are greatly limited by dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution, and corrosion reactions in the zinc anode during the charging and discharging process in aqueous zinc-ion batteries. First analyzing the causes and basic mechanisms of these above key issues, this paper then systematically expounded on four aspects of the modification strategies of zinc anodes, including anode material construction, coating surface passivation, separator film modification, and electrolyte optimization. Moreover, this study took the design points and modification principles of the four types of modification strategies as priority and prospected the development trend of zinc anodes, providing a powerful reference for promoting the development of high-performance aqueous zinc-ion batteries.