Fig. 5: Electrochemical and microscopy characterizations of Zn metal electrodes.

a Voltage profile of Zn deposition under various current densities (mA cm⁻²); b voltage hysteresis and nuclei overpotential vs. current density; c ex situ SEM micrograph of the P-Zn electrode cycled at 50 mA cm⁻²; d voltage–time profiles of bare Zn||Zn and PD-Zn||PD-Zn symmetric cells at current densities of 5 mA cm⁻², 7.5 mA cm⁻², and 10 mA cm⁻²; e morphology of PD-Zn electrode after 1000 h cycling at 5 mA cm⁻²; f morphology of bare Zn within the short-circuited cell after 360 h cycling at 5 mA cm⁻²; voltage–time profiles of bare Zn||Zn and PD-Zn||PD-Zn symmetric cells at current densities of g 7.5 mA cm⁻² and h 10 mA cm⁻².