• • Symmetric cells using ZnO/ZnSe@Brass achieve >10,000 cycles at 20 mA cm−2 and 1 mAh cm−2, demonstrating a 10-fold improvement in cycle life over conventional Li hosts, which typically fail within 1,000 cycles under similar conditions. This directly addresses the industrial need for durable fast-charging anodes in electric vehicles.
• • The host sustains operation at 80 mA cm−2, a current density that exceeds typical fast-charging protocols (4–6 mA cm−2) by an order of magnitude, enabling extreme fast charging (XFC) with charge times under 10 minutes for practical areal capacities.
• • Full cells with LiFePO4 cathodes retain >500 cycles at 2 C with minimal capacity fade, indicating a degradation rate of <0.04% per cycle, which meets the 10-year lifespan target for automotive batteries.
• • The in situ SEI enriched with Li2Se and Li2O exhibits high ionic conductivity and mechanical strength, reducing interfacial resistance by approximately 50% compared to bare Li, as evidenced by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, thereby mitigating dendrite nucleation at high rates.