Chelation Protection for Zinc Anode of Aqueous Batteries

This mini-review comprehensively outlines the latest advancements in protecting zinc anodes in zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) through chelation mechanisms. Chelation involves the coordination of ligands with Zn²⁺, offering promising strategies to address challenges such as dendrite formation and hydrogen evolution reactions. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and unified evaluation of chelation‘s protective effect on the zinc anode, which hinders a thorough assessment of chelation‘s effectiveness. Recent studies have demonstrated the excellent protective performance of chelation in altering solvation structures, modifying SEI structures, and selectively adsorbing species on the zinc anode. Furthermore, while chelation demonstrates significant benefits for the zinc anode, its impact on cathode materials must also be considered. Proper selection of chelation strengths and compatible cathode materials is essential for overall battery performance. Future research directions include exploring the effects of different ligands and coordination numbers on battery performance and extending chelation strategies to other secondary metal batteries. Understanding and optimizing chelation mechanisms are critical for advancing the development of high-performance ZIBs and other metal-ion battery technologies.