Zinc-Based Materials: Performance Regulation Strategies, Multidomain Applications, and Research Progress

As one of the most widely used non-ferrous metals globally, zinc possesses significant potential across numerous application fields due to its advantages of low cost, high natural reserves, and strong recyclability. This paper reviews the latest research progress of zinc-based materials, which include not only a variety of zinc alloys (such as high-strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys, degradable Mg-Zn and Zn-Li alloys), but also zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures with excellent photoelectric properties and zinc-based compounds sed as antibacterial materials. It focuses on the intrinsic characteristics, performance regulation strategies, multi-domain applications, and cutting-edge advances of zinc-based materials, covering mechanical property optimization, electrochemical performance modification, structural design, and interface regulation. From the perspective of material–performance–application correlation, this review sorts out key scientific issues and technical bottlenecks restricting the large-scale application of zinc-based materials. The aim is to provide a theoretical basis for the design and application of high performance, high reliability and multi-functional zinc-based Materials.