Abstract: Aqueous zinc-ion batteries show great promise for large-scale energy storage due to their high safety and low cost. However, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the zinc (Zn) metal anode significantly limits its cycling life and practical applicability. This review summarizes recent advances in suppressing HER on Zn anodes. It focuses on the mechanisms and efficacy of strategies, including alloying, interface engineering, electrolyte optimization, and electronic structure modulation. Although these approaches have achieved notable success in laboratory settings, their practical implementation faces several challenges, such as interfacial stability, scalable material production, cost control, and full-cell compatibility. Future research should prioritize electronic structure modulation and multi-scale collaborative design, develop dynamic characterization techniques, establish quantitative structure-activity relationships between electronic structure parameters and electrochemical performance, and accelerate material discovery through machine learning and other advanced methods. By promoting a paradigm shift from “passive protection” to “active regulation”, the industrialization of high-performance aqueous zinc-ion batteries can be expected.

Key words: Aqueous battery, Zinc-ion battery, Zinc metal, Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), Inhibition strategies