Research progress and perspectives on interface engineering of zinc metal anodes in aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have garnered increasing interest due to their high safety, low cost, environmental friendliness, and the natural abundance of zinc metal. However, practical operation is severely hindered by dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution, and interfacial side reactions at the zinc anode, which lead to poor reversibility and limited cycling stability. Interface engineering has emerged as an effective strategy to directly regulate interfacial reactions and optimize Zn plating/stripping behavior, thereby enhancing anode stability. This review systematically summarizes recent progress in zinc anode interface engineering, with emphasis on artificial solid electrolyte interphases (SEI), electrolyte/interfacial regulation, and separator modification. The design principles and underlying mechanisms of these strategies in suppressing dendrites, mitigating hydrogen evolution, and reducing interfacial side reactions are critically discussed. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives for interfacial design toward the practical deployment of AZIBs are outlined.