@article{Huang2026, 
author = {Long Huang and Hairong Cheng and Zhiyi Huang and Yi Xiong and Xiaoqiang Cai and Ya-Xiong Wang and Yan Gao and Jinlong Ge and Jie Zhang and Shuang Ma and Huan Wang and Xingxing Gu},
title = {Enabling high-performance Zn–I2 batteries with a solvation-regulating, ion-selective, and flexible sulfonic acid-water reducer gel electrolyte},
year = {2026},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {19},
number = {5},
pages = {94908379},
keywords = {ion selectivity, water reducer, gel electrolyte, polyiodide shuttle, Zn–I2 battery},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2026.94908379},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2026.94908379},
abstract = {Rechargeable aqueous Zn–I2 batteries face challenges from zinc anode degradation (dendrites, corrosion) and polyiodide (I3−/I5−) shuttling at the cathode, limiting cycle life. To address these issues simultaneously, a novel ion-selective, solvation-regulating, and flexible sulfonic acid-based water reducer gel electrolyte (polyacrylamide (PAM)-polynaphthalene sulphonate (FDN)-carboxylated chitosan (CCS)/zinc sulfate (ZSO)) is designed in this work. This electrolyte features a three-dimensional (3D) porous structure and abundant polar groups enabling efficient Zn2+ transport and solvation structure regulation, promoting uniform zinc deposition and suppressing water-related side reactions (e.g., hydrogen evolution) at the anode. Crucially, the strongly negatively charged sulfonic acid groups impart exceptional ion selectivity: They electrostatically repel polyiodide anion, effectively blocking their shuttle to the anode and minimizing active iodine loss, while permitting unimpeded Zn2+ diffusion. Consequently, Zn–I2 full cells employing this multifunctional gel electrolyte achieve outstanding cycling stability, retaining 118.5 mAh·g−1 after 9000 cycles at 5 A·g−1. This work achieves the synergistic optimization of interface issues in Zn–I2 batteries by constructing an ion-selective multifunctional gel electrolyte, significantly enhancing their overall electrochemical performance.}
}