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Stress-Mediated Formation of Mossy Structure During Zinc Electrodeposition in Alkaline Electrolytes for Zinc-Air Batteries
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DOI：10.1016/j.mtphys.2026.102102.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Zinc metal batteries are promising low-cost and environmentally benign alternatives to lithium-ion batteries, but their practical development is hindered by morphological instabilities such as the formation of mossy zinc during electrodeposition. Despite extensive studies of zinc deposition, the role of mechanical stress in moss formation remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the evolution of plating stress during zinc electrodeposition in alkaline electrolytes using in-situ stress measurements combined with structural characterization. Zinc deposition is found to generate large compressive stress reaching ∼140 MPa at 5 mA cm-2, significantly higher than that observed in other electrodeposited metals. The onset of mossy growth coincides with an apparent relaxation of the measured stress. Experiments comparing deposition on hard and soft substrates show that relieving plating stress reduces the nucleation density of moss colonies but does not inhibit their subsequent growth, indicating that stress primarily influences filament nucleation rather than growth. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that moss filaments are single crystalline and grow along non-[0001] directions, with their side surfaces passivated by a crystalline ZnO layer. Based on these observations, we propose a stress-mediated nucleation mechanism, in which compressive stress suppresses adatom incorporation into grain boundaries and promotes the formation of non-[0001]-oriented crystallites that serve as filament precursors. Unlike lithium metal deposition, where stress can directly drive filament extrusion, zinc moss growth proceeds predominantly through tip deposition and is therefore insensitive to stress relief. These findings provide new insights into the origin of mossy zinc formation and highlight the limitations of stress-relief strategies for stabilizing zinc metal anodes in alkaline battery systems.
Keywords:
Zinc metal battery
Mossy zinc formation
Electrodeposition stress
Alkaline electrolyte
Nucleation mechanism
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