TiO2(101)/MXenes heterostructured artificial protective layer for stabilizing zinc anodes in aqueous zinc-ion batteries

A TiO 2 (101)/MXenes heterostructure is designed as an artificial protective layer for stable Zn anodes. • Synergy of zincophilic TiO 2 (101) facets and conductive MXenes enables uniform Zn deposition. • The modified anode shows 60.1 mV nucleation overpotential and 3000 h stable cycling. • Full cell delivers long-cycle stability and superior rate performance for aqueous Zn-ion batteries. Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising for large-scale energy storage owing to high safety, low cost, and abundant Zn resources. Nevertheless, the commercialization of AZIBs is still plagued by intractable issues including Zn dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, a heterostructured artificial protective layer composed of TiO 2 (101) and MXenes (T(101)/MX) is elaborately designed to stabilize Zn anodes. The heterostructure fully combines the robust zincphilic nature and rapid Zn 2+ diffusion capability of TiO 2 (101) crystal facets with the superior electrical conductivity of MXenes, thereby synergistically regulating Zn nucleation and growth behavior. As a result, the modified T(101)/MX/Zn anode presents an ultralow nucleation overpotential of 60.1 mV and steady cycling over 3000 h at 3.0 mA cm −2 . When assembled with modified V 2 O 5 cathodes, the full battery achieves excellent rate performance and long-term cycling stability with a high specific capacity of 120.41 mAh g −1 at 5.0 A g −1 after 2000 cycles. This study provides a feasible strategy by integrating crystal facet engineering and heterostructure design to develop high-performance artificial protective layers for dendrite-free and long-lifespan Zn anodes, which can promote the practical application of advanced AZIBs. Download: Download high-res image (296KB) Download: Download full-size image