Gradient design of imprinted anode for stable Zn-ion batteries

Achieving long-term stable zinc anodes at high currents/capacities remains a great challenge for practical rechargeable zinc-ion batteries. Herein, we report an imprinted gradient zinc electrode that integrates gradient conductivity and hydrophilicity for long-term dendrite-free zinc-ion batteries. The gradient design not only effectively prohibits side reactions between the electrolyte and the zinc anode, but also synergistically optimizes electric field distribution, zinc ion flux and local current density, which induces preferentially deposited zinc in the bottom of the microchannels and suppresses dendrite growth even under high current densities/capacities. As a result, the imprinted gradient zinc anode can be stably cycled for 200 h at a high current density/capacity of 10 mA cm⁻²/10 mAh cm⁻², with a high cumulative capacity of 1000 mAh cm⁻², which outperforms the none-gradient counterparts and bare zinc. The imprinted gradient design can be easily scaled up, and a high-performance large-area pouch cell (4*5 cm²) is also demonstrated.