JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE, cilt.142, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The practical application of aqueous zinc (Zn) ion batteries (ZIBs) is limited due to challenges such as severe dendrite formation and undesired side reactions during cycling. In this study, we present zinc oxide nanowire (ZnO NW) decorated Zn anodes that enhance the electrochemical stability and performance of the aqueous ZIBs. ZnO NWs were directly grown on Zn foil in a controlled manner using the hydrothermal method. Various structural and electrochemical characterization techniques demonstrated that the vertically aligned ZnO NWs on Zn (ZnO/Zn) anodes provide remarkable electrochemical stability and significantly boost the battery performance during cycling. The ZnO NW decorated Zn anodes in symmetrical cells demonstrate remarkable stability for 1200 hat 2.0 mA cm-2 (2.0 mAh cm-2) and 800 hat 5.0 mA cm-2 (5.0 mAh cm-2). The Tafel and LSV curves show that the surface-modified anodes successfully impede side reactions such as hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and anode corrosion. Moreover, the fabricated ZnO/Zn//V2O5 full cell delivers a high specific capacity of 325.1 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1, which is significantly higher than that of the bare Zn//V2O5 cell (283.2 mAh g-1) and also has a capacity retention of 78 % at 1.0 A g-1 after 1000 cycles. This work provides a practical fabrication method and paves a new route for aqueous Zn-ion batteries.