A Universal Additive Strategy to Reshape Electrolyte Solvation Structure toward Reversible Zn Storage

Abstract The benefits of Zn, despite many of its performance advantages (e.g., high theoretical capacity and low redox potential), are compromised by severe side reactions and Zn dendrite growth in aqueous electrolytes, due to the coordinated H 2 O within the Zn 2+ ‐solvation sheath and reactive free water in the bulk electrolyte. Unlike most efforts focused on costly super‐concentrated electrolytes and single additive species, a universal strategy is proposed to boost Zn reversibility in dilute electrolytes via adding carbonyl‐containing organic solvents. Based on experimental investigations and multiscale simulations, the representative electrolyte with a N ‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone polar additive is proved to…