Recent Advances and Future Prospects of Rare Earth‐Modified Aqueous Zinc‐Ion Batteries

Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (AZIBs) have emerged as promising candidates for large‐scale energy storage due to inherent advantages including low cost, high safety, and environmental friendliness. However, their industrialization remains hindered by critical challenges such as dendrite growth on zinc anodes, hydrogen evolution reactions, corrosive side reactions, cathode structural degradation, and inadequate ion diffusion kinetics. To address these challenges, rare earth (RE) elements (e.g., Sc, Y, La, Ce, Eu), leveraging their high charge density, unique electronic configurations, and structural stability, have emerged as promising mediators for modulating interfacial electrochemistry, optimizing ion transport dynamics, and enhancing electrode stability in AZIBs. This review comprehensively summarizes recent advances in RE‐modified AZIBs, focusing on their mechanisms in stabilizing cathodes, suppressing anode side reactions, and electrolyte engineering. It also provides key insights for future research directions on the role of REs in AZIBs.