New / Alternative Chemistries

Predeposited Pb Nucleation Sites Enable Highly Reversible Zn Electrodes Hu et al. address poor Zn reversibility in aqueous Zn–Br flow batteries by introducing an in situ Pb predeposition strategy that creates uniformly distributed, zincophilic nucleation sites on carbon felt. The engineered Pb sites pin Zn nucleation, enforce uniform plating, and suppress parasitic hydrogen evolution, enabling dendrite-free Zn growth under high areal capacity operation.

Long-term cycling stability of Zn–Br flow batteries with Pb@CF electrodes.

As a result, the modified electrodes sustain 23 Ah cm−2 over 2300 h with an average Coulombic efficiency of 97.4%, substantially outperforming unmodified Zn electrodes.

Pb nanoparticles guide uniform Zn nucleation and dendrite-free growth.

Pb nucleation sites enforce uniform Zn plating, suppress hydrogen evolution, and unlock highly reversible, dendrite-free Zn electrodes at high areal capacity. Source: Hu, Y., Min, Z., Zhu, G. et al., Nat. Commun., 2025.

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