Surface Adsorption of Polyethylene Glycol to Suppress Dendrite Formation on Zinc Anodes in Rechargeable Aqueous Batteries

Abstract

Aqueous metal batteries routinely suffer from the dendritic growth at the anode, leading to significant capacity fading and ultimately, battery failure from short‐circuit. Herein, we utilize polyethylene glycol to regulate dendrite growth and improve the long‐term cycling stability of an aqueous rechargeable lithium/zinc battery. PEG200 in the electrolyte decreases the corrosion and chronoamperometric current densities of the zinc electrode up to four‐fold. Batteries with pre‐grown dendrites also perform significantly better when PEG is present in the electrolyte (41.4 mAh g−1 vs. 7.9 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles). X‐ray diffraction and electron microscopy studies show that dendrites in the PEG‐containing electrolyte have been inhibited, leading to much smaller/smoother surface features than those of the control. The facile preparation process of the aqueous electrolyte combined with low cost and vast performance improvement in batteries of all sizes indicates high upscaling viability.