Aqueous zinc (Zn) batteries have long been considered a potentially more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries because of their better environmental compatibility, enhanced safety and cost advantage. However, in the presence of an aqueous electrolyte, the Zn anode is poised to undergo dendrite failure, corrosion and hydrogen evolution, all of which resonate with each other leading to fast performance degradation. Here, in a break from the current aqueous battery path, we report a low-cost hydrous organic electrolyte involving a hydrated Zn(BF₄)₂ salt and an ethylene glycol solvent, which not only promotes the in situ formation of a favourable ZnF₂ passivation layer to protect Zn from dendrite growth and side reactions but also embraces excellent non-flammability. Remarkably, the present Zn anode sustains a long-term cycling over 4,000 h at a current density of 0.5 mA cm⁻² with a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.4% and shows an areal capacity as high as 5 mAh cm⁻². Equally intriguingly, the electrolyte can run across a wide temperature range from −30 °C to 40 °C without seriously compromising performance. The Zn//V₂O₅ full cells with our electrolyte also perform much better in terms of capacity retention than a device with an aqueous ZnSO₄ electrolyte. Our findings suggest a promising direction for developing electrolyte solutions for practical Zn batteries which combine safety, performance and sustainability.

长期以来，水性锌 (Zn) 电池一直被认为是锂离子电池的潜在更可持续的替代品，因为它们具有更好的环境兼容性、更高的安全性和成本优势。然而，在存在水性电解质的情况下，锌负极可能会发生枝晶失效、腐蚀和析氢，所有这些都会相互共振，导致性能快速下降。在这里，我们打破了目前的水性电池路径，报告了一种低成本的含水有机电解质，包括水合 Zn(BF ₄ ) ₂盐和乙二醇溶剂，它不仅促进了有利的 ZnF _{2 的}原位形成钝化层可保护 Zn 免受枝晶生长和副反应的影响，而且还具有出色的不燃性。值得注意的是，本发明的锌负极在 0.5 mA cm ^-2的电流密度下长期循环超过 4,000 小时，库仑效率高达 99.4%，并显示出高达 5 mAh cm ^{- 2}的面积容量。同样有趣的是，电解质可以在 -30°C 到 40°C 的宽温度范围内运行，而不会严重影响性能。使用我们的电解质的 Zn//V ₂ O ₅全电池在容量保持率方面也比使用 ZnSO ₄水溶液的设备好得多电解质。我们的研究结果为开发兼具安全性、性能和可持续性的实用锌电池电解质解决方案提供了一个有希望的方向。