Constructing Artificial Zincophilic Interphases Based on Indium–Organic Frameworks as Zinc Dendrite Constraint for Rechargeable Zinc–Air Battery

Abstract

The practical application of zinc (Zn)–air batteries is largely restricted by their inferior cyclability, especially under fast-charging conditions. Uneven Zn plating and dendrite formation result in their short circuits. In this work, an artificial solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) is constructed using indium–organic frameworks (IOF) on the Zn anode. It contains a hybrid architecture that integrates chemical and morphological contributions to regulate Zn plating behaviors and constrain dendrite growth. The atomically dispersed In³⁺ provides zincophilic sites to tune Zn nucleation kinetics and promote preferential growth along (002) crystal facet. Meanwhile, IOF exhibits nanosheets-assembled microspheres with a well-ordered porous architecture, which promotes mass transfer and affords space for Zn electrodeposition. The influence of SEI microstructure on Zn plating/stripping behavior is further investigated and validated by the post-cycling characterizations. With IOF based SEI, Zn symmetric cells perform stable cycling for over 1750 h at 10 mA cm⁻². When powering Zn–air batteries, their cycling life is extended to 800 h, which is approximately four times longer than that of pristine Zn foil.