Green Energy Storage: Biomass-Derived Electrodes for Sustainable Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are gaining momentum as a promising secondary battery technology due to their high safety, environmental friendliness, abundant resources, and competitive energy density. These attributes position them as viable alternatives to traditional lithium-ion batteries. However, the commercialization of AZIBs faces significant challenges, including high desolvation barriers that complicate ion mobility, sluggish ion-transport kinetics, zinc dendrite growth, and detrimental side reactions. To address these issues, there has been a growing interest in utilizing biomass-based materials in the design of advanced AZIBs. These materials inherently possess excellent hydrophilicity, strong mechanical strength, and abundant active functional groups, all of which can enhance the performance of AZIBs. This review offers an in-depth examination of current progress, prevailing limitations, and potential solutions for biomass-derived electrode materials to achieve enhanced long-cycle stability and rapid electrochemical kinetics in AZIBs. Furthermore, this review systematically addresses pivotal issues and emerging research directions concerning the design of zinc anodes, while guiding the future optimization of AZIBs with exceptional electrochemical performance. Hence, it furnishes a comprehensive outlook on the prospective evolution of biomass-based AZIBs, while highlighting critical challenges, and opportunities that may accelerate their ongoing development, and facilitate their wider adoption in practical applications.