Fast and Regulated Zinc Deposition in a Semiconductor Substrate toward High‐Performance Aqueous Rechargeable Batteries

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries are considered as ideal candidates for large-scale energy storage due to their high safety, eco-friendliness, and low cost. However, Zn anode invites dendrite growth and parasitic reactions at anode-electrolyte interface, impeding the practical realization of the battery. In this work, the electrochemical performance of the Zn-metal anode is proposed to improve by using a 3D ZnTe semiconductor substrate. The substrate features high zincophilicity, high electronic conductivity and electron affinity, and a low Zn nucleation energy barrier to promote dendrite-proof Zn deposition along the (002) crystal plane, while it also maintains high chemical stability against parasitic metal corrosion and hydrogen evolution reactions at surface, and a stable skeleton structure against the volume variation of anode. A Zn-metal anode based on the telluride substrate shows a long cycle life of over 3300 h with a small voltage hysteresis of 48 and 320 mV at 1 and 30 mA cm(-2), respectively. A zinc telluride@Zn//MnO2 full cell can operate for over 500 cycles under practical conditions in terms of lean electrolyte (18 mu L mAh(-1)) and limited Zn metal ( negative/positive capacity ratio of 3:1, and a high mass loading of the cathode.