Steric Molecular Combing Effect Enables Ultrafast Self-Healing Electrolyte in Quasi-Solid-State Zinc-Ion Batteries

Quasi-solid-state Zn metal batteries show great potential for next-generation batteries due to their inherent safety and high energy density. However, the mismatch between the static quasi-solid electrolyte surface and the dynamic Zn anode volume change will lead to inferior interfacial contact, which severely hinders the development of Zn-based batteries. Herein, a unique steric molecular combing strategy is proposed to design an ultrafast self-healing electrolyte for constructing a dynamically self-adaptive interface. Theoretical simulations and experimental characterizations reveal the steric molecular combing effect, which combs and straightens the guar gum molecular chain by inhibiting the intramolecular rotation. Concomitantly, the stretched molecular chain exposes more alcoholic hydroxyl active sites, enabling rapid dynamic cross-linking for ultrafast self-healing electrolytes. Consequently, the full battery shows an ultralong cycling lifespan of 10000 cycles with 98.5% capacity retention, and stable Zn stripping/plating is achieved at 10 mA cm–2 and 10 mAh cm–2, respectively, pushing forward the next-generation high-performance zinc-ion battery.