Zinc (Zn) is a low-cost material that is widely used in plating and is under consideration as a reversible deposit for a range of energy storage applications. In recent years, researchers have demonstrated that the Zn morphology can be tuned by electrodepositing from an ionic liquid often leading to morphologies that improve cyclability. However, the underlying mechanisms that control deposition and morphology are not well understood. In this work, we evaluate the evolution of zinc morphology as a function of the deposition thickness using in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM), in situ ultra-small angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) and ex situ electron microscopy. Imaging reveals two dominant features: a hexagonal plate-like morphology associated with individual Zn crystals and larger domains in which the individual crystals appear co-aligned. Analysis of the key features observed by USAXS indicates that the growth of the domain size is non-linear with the charge passed and that at least some of this non-linearity can be attributed to increased coalescence of the individual plates as the deposit thickens. A more detailed analysis suggests that there is little change in the aspect ratio of the individual Zn crystals – this is consistent with a growth mechanism in which previously deposited plates grow in diameter as new plates nucleate on their surface and then coalesce into one crystal.

锌（Zn）是一种低成本材料，已广泛用于电镀中，并且正在考虑作为一系列储能应用中的可逆沉积物。近年来，研究人员已经证明，可以通过从离子液体中进行电沉积来调节Zn的形态，这通常会导致改善可循环性的形态。但是，控制沉积和形态的基本机制还不很清楚。在这项工作中，我们使用原位原子力显微镜（AFM），原位超小角度X射线散射（USAXS）和非原位评估了锌形态随沉积厚度的变化电子显微镜。成像揭示了两个主要特征：与单个Zn晶体相关的六边形板状形态，以及单个晶体显得共线的较大区域。对USAXS观察到的关键特征的分析表明，畴尺寸的增长与所传递的电荷呈非线性关系，并且至少部分这种非线性可归因于沉积物变厚时各个板块的聚结增加。更详细的分析表明，单个Zn晶体的长宽比几乎没有变化-这与一种生长机理一致，在该生长机理中，先前沉积的板的直径随着新板在其表面成核然后聚结为一个晶体而直径增大。