@article{Li2026, 
author = {Diantao Li and Weijia Zhang and Tao Ma and Qiong Sun and Min Cheng and Zheyao Chen and Jie Yang and Yuzhu wang and Ying Jiang and Haixia Li and Tianjiang Sun and Weiwei Xie and Zhanliang Tao},
title = {Anion-rich zinc solvation structure enables low-temperature zinc plating/stripping efficiency},
year = {2026},
journal = {Nano Research Energy},
volume = {5},
pages = {e9120248},
keywords = {low-temperature, zinc-ion batteries, zinc plating/stripping efficiency, anion−rich outer solvation structure},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NRE.2026.9120248},
doi = {10.26599/NRE.2026.9120248},
abstract = {It is generally believed that low-temperature Zn2+ plating/stripping efficiency is lower than at room temperature. However, theoretical and experimental results indicate that a reversal where low-temperature efficiency outperforms that at room temperature. Under the 3 mol·kg−1 (3 m), Zn(ClO4)2 delivers 99.87% efficiency over 3800 cycles at −40 °C, far outperforming its room−temperature efficiency (94.92% over 110 cycles). Zn(BF4)2 achieves 99.76% over 3450 cycles at −40 °C versus 59.23% over 30 cycles at 25 °C. Above reversal phenomenon is closely related to anions (ClO4-, BF4-) with weak interactions toward H2O and Zn2+, which minimize water aggregation around anions and reduce repulsion between inner−sphere Zn2+ and outer−sphere anions, promoting an anion−rich, water−poor outer solvation structure that disrupts the hydrogen−bond network and lowers the freezing point. Conversely, strong anion–water interaction (e.g., ZnCl2) induces a water-rich structure with inferior low-temperature performance (−40 °C: 90.56% vs. 25 °C: 96.82%). To validate the above principle, Zn(CF3SO3)2 and ZnSO4 electrolytes were further employed for testing: the former forms anion−rich structure with superior low−temperature efficiency, while the latter forms water−rich structure with inferior efficiency. This work provides a general strategy for designing high−performance anti-freezing aqueous electrolytes.}
}