Aqueous–organic hybrid electrolyte stabilizing zinc metal anodes†

Abstract

A novel, low-cost, and non-flammable electrolyte composed of dimethylformamide (DMF), H₂O, and Zn(BF₄)₂ has been proposed. This electrolyte effectively suppresses side reactions by reducing the activity of H₂O coordinated with Zn²⁺. Furthermore, it inhibits zinc dendrite growth through the formation of an in situ ZnF₂ layer, which enables a remarkable cycling stability of up to 2550 cycles in Zn symmetric cells.