The introduction of additives into aqueous electrolyte has great potential in suppressing dendrite growth and improving the stability of Zn anodes. However, no relevant theory or descriptor could effectively support the screening and design of suitable additives. Herein, desolvation activation energy was proposed as a critical descriptor for the screening of electrolyte additives. The effectiveness of this descriptor was proved by anionic polysaccharide additives with a low desolvation barrier. Anionic polysaccharides could spontaneously form a protective layer on the Zn anode due to the good Zn affinity, promoting the desolvation behavior through hydrogen bonding and elevating the energy barrier of H₂O dissociation. Consequently, the interfacial polarization was effectively decreased and the hydrogen evolution was inhibited, contributing to the enhanced stability of the Zn anode. As a proof of concept, pectin, one type of anionic polysaccharide was selected as the electrolyte additive for the systematic electrochemical performance studies. Significantly improved cycling stability with high reversibility, suppressed dendrite growth and low overpotential was achieved in the symmetric Zn cells.

中文翻译：

---

筛选电解质添加剂以稳定锌金属阳极的有效描述符

在水性电解液中引入添加剂在抑制枝晶生长和提高锌阳极稳定性方面具有巨大潜力。然而，没有相关的理论或描述符可以有效支持合适添加剂的筛选和设计。在此，提出去溶剂化活化能作为筛选电解质添加剂的关键描述符。具有低去溶剂阻隔的阴离子多糖添加剂证明了该描述符的有效性。由于良好的Zn亲和力，阴离子多糖可以在Zn阳极上自发形成保护层，通过氢键促进去溶剂化行为并提高H ₂ O解离的能垒。因此，界面极化有效降低，析氢受到抑制，有助于提高锌负极的稳定性。作为概念验证，选择果胶（一种阴离子多糖）作为电解质添加剂进行系统的电化学性能研究。对称锌电池显着提高了循环稳定性，具有高可逆性、抑制枝晶生长和低过电势。