Breakthrough in Sustainability Research: Bone-Inspired Hydrogel Electrolytes for Zn Metal Batteries

Researchers at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology have made a significant contribution to the field of sustainability research by developing a new type of hydrogel electrolyte for use in aqueous Zn metal batteries (AZMBs). This innovation addresses the problems associated with current hydrogel electrolytes, including poor sustainability and low ionic conductivity. The new electrolyte, dubbed Zn-HA-Gel, is composed of Zn-doped hydroxyapatite nanofibers and a gelatin matrix derived from animal bones. This unique composition endows Zn-HA-Gel with excellent sustainability, water retention, and mechanical properties.

Key Takeaways:

• The researchers have developed a bone-inspired hydrogel electrolyte, Zn-HA-Gel, which exhibits excellent sustainability, water retention, and mechanical properties.
• Zn-HA-Gel has an ultrahigh intrinsic ionic conductivity (32.5 mS cm-1) and transference number (0.80), facilitating uniform Zn plating/stripping and durable working stability.
• The electrolyte enables ultrastable cycling performance with a cumulative capacity of 5 Ah cm-2 at 5 mA cm-2/5 mAh cm-2 for Zn/Zn cells and a superior cycling performance with a capacity retention of 82.4% after 2000 cycles for full cells.
• The development of Zn-HA-Gel surpasses the capabilities of current hydrogel electrolytes and has potential applications in sustainable and functional energy-storage devices.
• The research has been funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
• The team of researchers includes Jin Niu, Jiaying Peng, Weihao Song, Wei Zhang, Xinyu Li, Qing Ma, Bing Wu, Chendong Ji, Feng Wang, Yilin Sun, Masatsugu Fujishige, Kenji Takeuchi, and Morinobu Endo.

Statistics:

• The new electrolyte, Zn-HA-Gel, exhibits an ultrahigh intrinsic ionic conductivity of 32.5 mS cm-1.
• The electrolyte has a transference number of 0.80.
• The cumulative capacity of Zn/Zn cells using Zn-HA-Gel is 5 Ah cm-2 at 5 mA cm-2/5 mAh cm-2.
• The capacity retention of full cells after 2000 cycles is 82.4%.

Sources:

• NewsRx. Researchers from Beijing University of Chemical Technology Detail Findings in Sustainability Research (Bone-inspired Sustainable Hydrogel Electrolytes for Zn Metal Batteries). Health & Medicine Week. August 8, 2025; p 768.
• Bone-inspired Sustainable Hydrogel Electrolytes for Zn Metal Batteries. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2025.
• Angewandte Chemie International Edition can be contacted at: Wiley-v C H Verlag Gmbh, Postfach 101161, 69451 Weinheim, Germany.