Open Access

REVIEW

A Minireview on Comprehensive Application of Hydrogels Used as Electrolytes in Flexible Zinc-Air Batteries

Yinglai Tang, Jiale Xie, Yujie Chen, Xingxu Liu, Xiaomin Kang^*

School of Mechanical Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

* Corresponding Author: Xiaomin Kang. Email:

Journal of Polymer Materials 2025, 42(3), 587-619. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpm.2025.067647

Received 08 May 2025; Accepted 04 August 2025; Issue published 30 September 2025

Abstract

With the rapid development of flexible and wearable electronic devices, the demand for flexible power sources with high energy density and long service life is imminent. Zinc-air batteries have long been regarded as an important development direction in the future due to their high safety, environmental efficiency, abundant reserves and low cost. However, problems such as zinc dendrite growth, corrosion, by-product generation, hydrogen evolution and leakage, and evaporation of electrolyte affect the commercialization of zinc-air batteries. In addition, currently widely used aqueous electrolytes lead to larger batteries, which is not conducive to the development of emerging smart devices. The characteristics of the hydrogel electrolyte can solve the above problems. In order to promote the wider application of gel electrolyte-based zinc batteries, this paper reviews the recently reported polymer electrolytes in flexible zinc-air batteries (FZABs), reviews the working mechanism of ZABs, and enumerates the general assembly structure of FZABs. The types and characteristics of hydrogel electrolytes with excellent performance at present, as well as the corresponding performance of FZABs, are summarized. In addition, the challenges in the application of gel electrolytes and gel-based FZABs are discussed, and the future research and development prospects of next-generation high-performance solid-state ZABs are prospected.

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Keywords

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