The cycle life of zinc anode in alkaline medium was enhanced by tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) as modifier through a facile co-precipitation method. The as-prepared electrode material before and after charge/discharge test were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the effect of TPP on the zinc dendrite growth. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization measurement were utilized to examine the electrochemical performances of TPP-modified ZnO as anode material. TPP-modified ZnO possess higher discharge voltage, higher cycle stability and lower corrosion current, but larger charge-transfer resistance in comparison with bare ZnO. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.