Flexible aqueous zinc-ion battery with low-temperature resistant leather gel electrolyte

Flexible zinc-ion batteries (FZIBs) have been acknowledged as a potential cornerstone for the future development of flexible energy storage, yet conventional FZIBs still encounter challenges, particularly concerning performance failure at low temperatures. To address these challenges, a novel anti-freezing leather gel electrolyte (AFLGE-30) is designed, incorporating ethanol as a hydrogen bonding acceptor. The AFLGE-30 demonstrates exceptional frost resistance while maintaining favorable flexibility even at −30 °C; accordingly, the battery can achieve a high specific capacity of about 70 mAh/g. Cu//Zn battery exhibits remarkable stability at room temperature, retaining ∼96 % efficiency after 120 plating/stripping cycles at 1 mA/cm². Concurrently, the Zn//Zn symmetric batteries demonstrate a lifespan of 4100 h at room temperature, which is attributed to the enhancement of Zn²⁺ deposition kinetics, restraining the formation of zinc dendrites. Furthermore, FZIBs exhibit minimal capacity loss even after bending, impacting, or burning. This work provides a promising strategy for designing low-temperature-resistant FZIBs.