Hydrated eutectic electrolytes with decoupled weakly hydrogen bonded solvated structures enable fast kinetics for high-performance zinc-ion batteries
writer：WR Li, XY Dong, F Ilyas, HY Zhu, LZ Zhao, W Liu, WQ Kong, X Han, ZY Yu, YS Song, ZS Guan, et al.
keywords：zinc-ion batteries
source：期刊
specific source：Chemical Engineering Journal
Issue time：2025年
Eutectic electrolytes have emerged as promising candidates for sustainable energy storage due the advantages of economic efficiency, safety and environmental friendliness. However, slow kinetics caused by complex hydrogen-bonding interactions remain challenging problems. Herein, we propose an innovative hydrogen-bond weakening strategy to address these challenges. By introducing weak hydrogen-bond interactions to decouple zinc-ion clusters from the hydrogen-bond network, enabling rapid Zn2+ migration at the mechanism level. The optimized zinc-ion solvation structure not only significantly reduces migration energy barriers but also facilitates the formation of a robust solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) with high mechanical strength and ionic conductivity, enabling synergistic optimization of interfacial stability and charge transfer kinetics. Consequently, the Zn//Zn symmetric cell exhibits exceptional dendrite suppression for over 2600?h, while the Zn//PANI full cell demonstrates a ～50?% capacity enhancement. Notably, this electrolyte maintains excellent cycling stability under extreme conditions (60?°C, N/P?=?4:1), outperforming conventional aqueous electrolytes. This work offers new insights into the design of deep eutectic electrolytes.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163965