Engineering Robust Electrode-Electrolyte Interface by Adhesive Gel Polymer Electrolytes for CO₂-Tolerant Flexible...

As an emerging energy storage device, flexible zinc-air batteries (FZABs) have garnered significant attention due to their high energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, FZABs, being a special type of semi-open system, suffer from CO₂ corrosion in strongly alkaline electrolyte environments, which leads to rapid degradation of battery performance and severely hinders the widespread application of FZABs. Herein, a novel polycationic backbone was constructed via free radical copolymerization of acrylamide (AM) and 3-(methacryloylamino)propyltrimethylammonium chloride (MAPTAC). By incorporating gelatin, a highly viscous and strongly adhesive MPTA-G gel polymer electrolyte (GPEs) was developed. The optimal MPTA-G0.15 GPE achieves an ionic conductivity as high as 282 mS cm^-1 and can effectively inhibit the growth of zinc dendrites. Moreover, the FZAB based on the MPTA-G0.15 GPE shows excellent electrochemical performance and favorable tolerance to CO₂. Consequently, the synthesis of highly viscous and adhesive GPEs based on a gelatin-reinforced strategy paves the way for developing FZABs with superior interfacial stability and CO₂ resistance in strongly alkaline electrolytes.