Quasi‐Liquid Gel Electrolyte for Enhanced Flexible Zn–Air Batteries

Abstract

Flexible Zn–air batteries (FZABs) have attracted more attention due to their high specific energy, excellent stability, and unique rechargeability. However, these batteries are limited by the low conductivity of the gel electrolytes used. Here a quasi‐liquid gel with ionic conductivity comparable to liquid electrolytes is presented. The gel pore structure is guided and modified in situ with large‐size silica to achieve clear and unbroken pores. The reduced skeleton structure leads to a significant increase in ionic conductivity to 562.6 mS cm−1, enabling a peak power density of 154 mW cm−2 and a cycle life of over 40 h with a low charge–discharge gap. The FZABs also exhibit a high lifetime and potential advantages in 10 mA cm−2 charge/discharge testing, and demonstrate excellent performance in practical applications. This study offers new possibilities for developing high‐performance quasi‐liquid gels and innovative concepts for FZABs.

Sustainable zinc–air battery chemistry: advances, challenges and prospects

“…290 Many GPEs are synthesized via the polymerization of monomers to obtain polymer hosts, and then soaked in the corresponding aqueous electrolyte to get the targeted GPEs. 291 The amorphous phase in GPEs enables fast ion transport through the hydrated regions. 208 Here, some evaluation indexes are required to consider.…”

Recent progress in structural modification of polymer gel electrolytes for use in solid-state zinc-ion batteries

“…For example, adding carbon nanotubes (CNTs), [106][107][108][109] carbon nanofibers (CNFs), 109,110 graphene, [111][112][113] and other carbon materials 114,115 to the gel polymer can create ion channels in the polymer body, which greatly improves the ionic conductivity and flexibility of the gel. Zinc oxide, 116 silica, [117][118][119] alumina, 120,121 and other oxides can increase the mechanical properties of gel polymer electrolytes and reduce the formation of metal dendrites. In this chapter, we have summarized some inorganic nonmetallic materials of different types that are added in the polymer chain to improve the electrochemical performance of gel electrolytes.…”

Metal–air batteries for powering robots

“…7a). 123,124 Typically, this structure involves surrounding the metal electrode with a polymer electrolyte, with the outermost layer being the air electrode. The sandwich structure is more conducive to series and parallel assembly (Fig.…”