Fig. 2: Investigation of the ion-water aggregates and detailed electrolytes composition are recorded in Supplementary Table 1.

a Raman spectra of v-SO₄²⁻ band in different electrolytes; b ¹H NMR spectrum of the characteristic peak of the guanidinium; c Raman spectra of the O-H stretching region of the water; d The variation of the photoluminescence peak position with the change in excitation wavelength; e Raman spectra of Zn²⁺ solvation in various electrolytes; f Zn K-edge XANES and (g) EXAFS spectra in R space of different electrolytes; h Snapshots of hetero-ion aggregation and water hydrogen-bond networks in 3 m ZnSO₄ and ion-water aggregated electrolytes; i Evolution of the fractions of aggregated SO₄²⁻, solvated H₂O, and Zn²⁺ coordination number in different electrolytes.