Scalable Synthesis of Interfacial Regulators for Durable Zinc Powder Batteries

Abstract

Zn powder is a promising anode for aqueous Zn-ion batteries because of its tunability and compatibility with industrial manufacturing, but parasitic reactions and uncontrolled deposition limit practical use. Here, we develop a tandem plasma-enhanced powder synthesis technology (TaPPS) that integrates chemical vapor deposition with powder spheroidization to yield zincophilic, defective graphene-coated copper powders (Gr@Cu) at a throughput of 3.36 kg h⁻¹. When incorporated into Zn powder electrodes, Gr@Cu particles redistribute charge and provide preferential Zn nucleation sites, enabling thermodynamic and kinetic regulation of Zn deposition. This powder-level interfacial regulation enables highly reversible plating/stripping over 4000 cycles with 99.91% Coulombic efficiency at 5 mA cm⁻², while full cells operate stably for over 1500 cycles. Beyond Zn powder electrodes, Gr@Cu also functions as an artificial interfacial layer on Zn metal anodes, highlighting TaPPS as a scalable powder-engineering platform for developing functional interfacial regulators for durable Zn electrochemistry.