Dipole-Gated Solvation Strategy for High-Rate Mg-Metal Batteries

Abstract Developing high-performance next-generation energy storage systems is crucial for clean energy technologies. Mg-metal batteries are promising owing to their high specific capacity, high safety, and cost-effectiveness. However, the high charge density of Mg2+ triggers strong Mg2+–ligand coordination, resulting in sluggish desolvation kinetics and poor rate performance. Here, we propose a dipole-gated solvation strategy and employ artificial-intelligence-driven clustering screening to construct solvation structures with large dipole moments. The weakly coordinating ligands preferentially approach the electrode via electric field–dipole interaction, enabling a dipole-gated effect that accelerates desolvation. This rapid desolvation also endows an ultrathin and uniform solid–electrolyte interphase, facilitating fast interfacial Mg2+ transport. Consequently, the Mg-metal coin cell achieves rate capability up to 10C, while the Mg-metal pouch cell sustains stable cycling for over 400 cycles at 4C. This work advances multivalent batteries toward practical energy storage systems.