Novel Triazine Derivatives Efficiently Regulate the Interfacial Behavior of Metallic Zinc in Sulfuric Acid Electrolyte.

Abstract

To investigate the corrosion and interfacial behavior of acidic zinc-based battery systems, this study employed 1 mol/L H₂SO₄ as a model electrolyte and focused on the severe corrosion and hydrogen evolution of zinc anodes in strongly acidic environments. A triazine derivative designed (ZBZ) was selected as a candidate organic inhibitor, and its inhibition performance and mechanism in the $\mathrm{Zn}/{\mathrm{SO}}_4^{2-}$ system were systematically examined. Electrochemical testing, surface morphology and composition analyses, and theoretical calculations reveal that ZBZ forms a dense, stable organic film on the zinc surface via multisite strong adsorption and a rigid conjugated skeleton, effectively suppressing zinc anodic dissolution and cathodic hydrogen evolution. As a result, the electrochemical stability and reversibility of the zinc electrode in strong acid are markedly enhanced. This work provides fundamental data on zinc anode corrosion in sulfuric acid and represents the extension of triazine-based organic inhibitors to highly reactive $\mathrm{Zn}/{\mathrm{SO}}_4^{2-}$ strong-acid systems, offering a basis for electrolyte optimization in acidic zinc-based batteries and for the molecular design of highly active zinc anode corrosion inhibitors.