Artificial Solid Electrolyte Interphase Engineering Enables Stable Zinc Metal Anodes: Recent Advances and Perspectives

Abstract

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising for renewable energy storage owing to their intrinsic safety, low cost, and high theoretical capacity. However, zinc metal anodes are intrinsically plagued by dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution reaction, corrosion, surface passivation, and other side reactions, which destabilize the zinc/electrolyte interface. Stabilizing this interface largely depends on the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). As a naturally formed protective layer on the surface of zinc metal anodes, the SEI not only suffers from the aforementioned issues but also struggles to maintain stability during long-term cycling. Conversely, the artificial SEI enables precise and controllable manipulation of composition, structure, and performance, while integrating multiple functions such as ion-transport modulation and physical-barrier protection, which provides an effective route for overcoming the inherent limitations of natural SEI. Herein, we comprehensively summarize the design principles and key performance parameters of artificial SEI layers, investigate recent research progress in optimization strategies, and analyze current construction approaches, including in situ and ex situ fabrication, as well as compositional classifications, namely inorganic SEI, organic SEI, and organic-inorganic composite SEI. Their advantages, limitations, and interfacial regulation mechanisms are analyzed, and future research directions and challenges are discussed to guide the development of high-performance AZIBs.