Addition of aluminum lactate in electrolyte promotes (002)-textured zinc growth and suppresses side reactions in zinc-ion batteries.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) suffer from interfacial instability mainly due to the inherent electrochemical incompatibility between zinc anodes and aqueous electrolytes. Herein, we report aluminum lactate (Al-Lac) as an effective electrolyte additive that stabilizes zinc anodes via comprehensive solvation structure regulation. Al-Lac competitively coordinates with water molecules via Al3+ and lactate ions, disrupting the original [Zn(H2O)6]2+ solvation sheath, reducing water activity, and suppressing hydrogen evolution. Furthermore, Al3+ preferentially adsorbs onto the Zn surface under an electric field, establishing a protective electrostatic shield that guides uniform Zn2+ deposition. As a result, the nucleation overpotential of Zn2+ is significantly reduced, Zn deposition is oriented preferentially along the (002) plane, and dendrite growth is effectively inhibited. Consequently, the introduction of Al-Lac effectively enhances the interfacial reaction kinetics during Zn deposition and maintains the interfacial impedance. The corresponding Zn||Zn symmetric cells achieve an ultra-long lifespan of 5000 h (2 mA cm-2, 1 mAh cm-2), and full-cells with Na2V6O16·2.74H2O cathodes exhibit negligible capacity decay after 2000 cycles at 10 A g-1. This work provides a feasible strategy for the development of low-cost and high-stability AZIBs.