Long cycle lifespan of flexible rechargeable zinc-air batteries based on porous sodium hyaluronate/polyacrylamide-based hydrogel electrolyte

Gel electrolytes play a pivotal role in determining the cycle lifespan of flexible zinc-air batteries. In this study, we develop a porous polymer gel by crosslinking sodium hyaluronate (SH) and polyacrylamide (PAM), with the addition of silica nanoparticles as a pore-forming agent. Density functional theory (DFT) analysis, combined with a measure water retention rate of 80.6 % after 96 h, confirms that SH exhibits excellent water retention performance and effectively inhibits zinc dendrite formation. The combination of these properties and the gel's porous structure results in enhanced electrolyte adsorption, ionic conductivity, and water retention. Consequently, the flexible zinc-air battery assembled with this gel achieve 480 charge-discharge cycles with a 62 % efficiency, a specific capacity of 735.5 mA h g- 1, a power density of 85.5 mW cm- 2. Notably, it maintains excellent performance over 140 cycles even at a high current density of 5 mA cm- 2, which is superior to some previous analogous batteries. These findings offer valuable insights for enhancing the cycle lifespan of flexible zinc-air batteries providing valuable insights for improving the cycle lifespan of flexible zinc-air batteries.