Gel Polymer Electrolyte toward Large-Scale Application of Aqueous Zinc Batteries

Aqueous zinc batteries are promising candidates for energy storage and conversion devices in the post-lithium era due to their high energy density, high safety, and low cost. The electrolyte plays an important role in zinc batteries by conducting and separating the positive and negative electrodes. However, the issues of zinc dendrites growth, corrosion, by-product formation, hydrogen evolution and leakage, and evaporation of the aqueous electrolytes affect the commercialization of the batteries. Moreover, the widely used aqueous electrolytes result in large battery sizes, which are not conducive to the emerging smart devices. The intrinsic properties of gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) can solve the above problems. In order to promote the wider application of GPEs-based zinc batteries, in this review, the working principle and the current problems of zinc batteries are first introduced, andthe merits of GPEs compared to aqueous electrolytes are then summarized. Subsequently, a series of challenges and corresponding strategies faced by GPE is discussed, and an outlook for its future development is finally proposed.

Automated summary

Aqueous zinc batteries have high energy density, high safety, and low cost, making them promising candidates for energy storage and conversion devices in the post-lithium era. However, issues such as zinc dendrites growth, corrosion, by-product formation, hydrogen evolution, and leakage affect their commercialization. Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) can solve these problems and provide a new approach for the application of zinc batteries.