Concurrently Suppressing Side Reaction and Freezing in Flexible Zinc–Air Batteries with a Robust Eutectogel Electrolyte

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Authors: Shan Shan Gong, Tao Wang, Yafen Zheng, Pengxu Ren, Dianzeng Jia, Dongling Wu
Cited by: 6
References: 44

Abstract

ABSTRACT Flexible zinc‐air batteries (FZABs) represent an emerging energy storage technology, yet their development is hindered by the limitations of conventional hydrogel electrolytes, including poor water retention, low ionic conductivity, undesirable side reactions, and poor low‐temperature applicability. Herein, a series of deep eutectic solvent (DES)‐based eutectogel electrolytes are developed by dissolving polyvinyl alcohol in DESs composed of ethylene glycol and amides with varying carbon chain lengths. The formamide‐derived eutectogel (FEP) exhibits superior hydrogen bonding strength and denser cross‐linked network, enhancing mechanical robustness, ionic conductivity (184 mS cm −1 ), and liquid retention (90.01% after 96 h in air). The synergistic effect of ─C═O and —NH 2 groups in formamide promotes the conversion of free water to bound water and restricts Zn(OH) 4 2− diffusion, which suppresses hydrogen evolution, corrosion, dendrite, and passivation. Moreover, CoFe alloy encapsulated in carbon nanotubes (CoFe‐CNT), synthesized using formamide, serves as an efficient oxygen reduction catalyst. The assembled FEP‐based FZAB achieves a peak power density of 121.1 mW cm −2 , a specific capacity of 800 mAh g Zn −1 , and stable operation across an ultra‐wide temperature range from −115°C to 70°C. This work advances eutectogel technology and offers novel approaches to designing gel electrolytes with a wide operating temperature range and excellent electrochemical performance.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Advanced battery technologies research Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies

Publication details

Journal / source
Small
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
22
Issue
15
Pages
e12845–e12845
Publication date
20 January 2026
Language
EN