Tiny additive helps water-based battery run for 2,800 hours with record capacity

South Korean researchers developed a tiny zwitterionic additive called C10 that dramatically improves water-based batteries, enabling 2,800 hours of stable operation and record energy capacity. By self-assembling into protective nanostructures, C10 simultaneously improves zinc deposits and blocks corrosion — solving two longstanding problems without costly redesigns, making safer, cheaper batteries more commercially viable.