Aqueous zinc-ion batteries are promising for large-scale energy storage due to their intrinsic safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, their practical application is severely impeded by water-induced parasitic reactions and uncontrollable dendrite growth at the anode interface. Furthermore, the freezing of aqueous electrolytes at subzero temperature restricts their all-weather viability. Herein, we report a hydrogel electrolyte with interfacial regulation capabilities. By optimizing interfacial ion transport, the hydrogel electrolyte guides uniform Zn2+ deposition, effectively mitigating parasitic reactions and dendrite growth while enabling exceptional low-temperature tolerance. Consequently, the symmetric Zn//Zn cell using the hydrogel electrolyte delivers ultra-high cycling stability for 4000 h at 0.5 mA cm−2 under −30 °C. When assembled into full cells, the Zn//NH4V4O10 configuration operates stably for 4000 cycles at 5 A g−1, exhibiting outstanding capacity retention. Furthermore, the assembled flexible pouch cell maintains 86% of initial capacity after 900 cycles at 3 A g−1. Notably, the pouch cells demonstrate reliable operation and structural integrity under severe conditions, such as ice baths, bending, and piercing. This work provides an effective strategy for durable, wide-temperature, and intrinsically safe flexible aqueous energy storage systems.
Huang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.