A biocompatible electrolyte enables highly reversible Zn anode for zinc ion battery.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37845239.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-42333-z and PMC identifier 10579325.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Progress towards the integration of technology into living organisms requires power devices that are biocompatible and mechanically flexible. Aqueous zinc ion batteries that use hydrogel biomaterials as electrolytes have emerged as a potential solution that operates within biological constraints; however, most of these batteries feature inferior electrochemical properties. Here, we propose a biocompatible hydrogel electrolyte by utilising hyaluronic acid, which contains ample hydrophilic functional groups. The gel-based electrolyte offers excellent anti-corrosion ability for zinc anodes and regulates zinc nucleation/growth. Also, the gel electrolyte provides high battery performance, including a 99.71% Coulombic efficiency, over 5500 hours of long-term stability, improved cycle life of 250 hours under a high zinc utilization rate of 80%, and high biocompatibility. Importantly, the Zn//LiMn<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> pouch cell exhibits 82% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 3 C. This work presents a promising gel chemistry that controls zinc behaviour, offering great potential in biocompatible energy-related applications and beyond.