Aluminum lactate etching of zinc surfaces for enhanced zinc anode performance in aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Although aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) show promise for large-scale energy storage, they face challenges of zinc anode dendrite growth and interfacial corrosion. Here, we present an aluminum lactate etching strategy for fabricating highly (002)-textured zinc anodes. This modification suppressed dendrite growth and corrosion, enabling stable cycling for over 2500 h at 2 mA cm^–2. Furthermore, the average Coulombic efficiency of a Zn||Cu half-cell reached 99.8% after 2000 cycles. A full cell paired with a Na₂V₆O₁₆·2.74 H₂O cathode exhibited 82.4% capacity retention after 2000 cycles at 10 A g^–1. Moreover, the corresponding pouch cell achieved 79.4% capacity retention over 300 cycles, validating its potential for practical zinc-ion battery applications. This work provides a scalable pathway for manufacturing high-performance zinc anodes and offers new insights into crystallographic texture regulation for AZIBs.