Mitigating ion flux vortex enables reversible zinc electrodeposition

Yuhang Dai, Wenjia Du, Haobo Dong, Xuan Gao (), Chang Su, Partha P. Paul, Bratislav Lukic, Chengyi Zhang, Chumei Ye, Jinghao Li, Wei Zong, Jianwei Li, Yiyang Liu, Alexander Rack, Liqiang Mai (), Paul R. Shearing () and Guanjie He ()
Additional contact information
Yuhang Dai: University College London
Wenjia Du: University of Oxford
Haobo Dong: University College London
Xuan Gao: University College London
Chang Su: University of Oxford
Partha P. Paul: The University of Manchester
Bratislav Lukic: The University of Manchester
Chengyi Zhang: University of Auckland
Chumei Ye: University of Cambridge
Jinghao Li: Wuhan University of Technology
Wei Zong: University of Oxford
Jianwei Li: University College London
Yiyang Liu: University College London
Alexander Rack: 71 Avenue des Martyrs
Liqiang Mai: Wuhan University of Technology
Paul R. Shearing: University of Oxford
Guanjie He: University College London

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Metal anodes hold considerable promise for high-energy-density batteries but are fundamentally limited by electrochemical irreversibility caused by uneven metal deposition and dendrite formation, which compromise battery lifespan and safety. The chaotic ion flow (or ion flux vortex) near the electrode surface, driving these instabilities, has remained elusive due to limitations in conventional techniques such as scanning electron and atomic force microscopies, which are invasive and incapable of probing internal structures of deposits. Here, we employ in-situ X-ray computed tomography (CT) to non-destructively visualize Zn deposition on LAPONITE-coated Zn anodes, thereby revealing the internal structural evolution and deposition orientation. Combined with computational fluid dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that the LAPONITE coating, with its separated positive and negative charge centers, suppresses ionic vortex formation, guiding uniform, dense, and vertically aligned Zn growth along (100) plane, thereby significantly mitigating dendrite growth. This translates into a 3.17-Ah Zn-MnO2 pouch cell with stable performance over 100 cycles, offering a viable path toward scalable, high-performance metal-anode batteries.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62470-x Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-62470-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62470-x

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().