Wood Cellulosic Membrane With Abundant Nanochannels for Stabilizing Aqueous Zn‐Ion Batteries

ABSTRACT The practical deployment of aqueous Zn‐ion batteries (AZIBs) is severely hindered by uncontrolled zinc dendrite growth and parasitic side reactions at the anode–electrolyte interface. As a critical component, the separator governs Zn 2+ transport and interfacial stability, yet conventional glass fiber separators suffer from low mechanical strength and disordered porous structures, causing uneven ion flux, side reactions, and dendrite growth. Herein, a wood‐derived cellulosic membrane with abundant nanochannels and water‐binding functionalities is developed as a sustainable, low‐cost separator. The densely aligned cellulose nanofibrils impart exceptional mechanical robustness, while hydroxyl‐rich surfaces form strong hydrogen bonds with water molecules, immobilizing free water and stabilizing the electrolyte–anode interface. Moreover, the hierarchical fibrillar network, swollen by electrolyte uptake, forms well‐aligned nanochannels that enable uniform Zn 2+ flux and homogenize electric field distribution, thereby mitigating tip‐induced dendrite propagation. As a result, Zn||Zn symmetric cells show ultra‐stable cycling for 1920 h, Zn||Cu cells deliver a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.5% over 1000 cycles, and Zn||MnO 2 full cells retain 88.8% capacity after 1000 cycles at 1 A g −1 . This work highlights the potential of ordered wood cellulose membranes as sustainable and low‐cost separators for dendrite‐free, high‐performance AZIBs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-06-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.76703
Primary Topic
Advanced battery technologies research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Wood Cellulosic Membrane With Abundant Nanochannels for Stabilizing Aqueous Zn‐Ion Batteries

Ruwei Chen, Hongping Dong, Guanjie He, Shanshan Jia et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced battery technologies research
article

Wood Cellulosic Membrane With Abundant Nanochannels for Stabilizing Aqueous Zn‐Ion Batteries

Ruwei Chen, Hongping Dong, Guanjie He, Shanshan Jia, S.M. Wei, Li Li, Y N Wu, Zhen Zhang, Yunpeng Zhong
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The practical deployment of aqueous Zn‐ion batteries (AZIBs) is severely hindered by uncontrolled zinc dendrite growth and parasitic side reactions at the anode–electrolyte interface. As a critical component, the separator governs Zn 2+ transport and interfacial stability, yet conventional glass fiber separators suffer from low mechanical strength and disordered porous structures, causing uneven ion flux, side reactions, and dendrite growth. Herein, a wood‐derived cellulosic membrane with abundant nanochannels and water‐binding functionalities is developed as a sustainable, low‐cost separator. The densely aligned cellulose nanofibrils impart exceptional mechanical robustness, while hydroxyl‐rich surfaces form strong hydrogen bonds with water molecules, immobilizing free water and stabilizing the electrolyte–anode interface. Moreover, the hierarchical fibrillar network, swollen by electrolyte uptake, forms well‐aligned nanochannels that enable uniform Zn 2+ flux and homogenize electric field distribution, thereby mitigating tip‐induced dendrite propagation. As a result, Zn||Zn symmetric cells show ultra‐stable cycling for 1920 h, Zn||Cu cells deliver a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.5% over 1000 cycles, and Zn||MnO 2 full cells retain 88.8% capacity after 1000 cycles at 1 A g −1 . This work highlights the potential of ordered wood cellulose membranes as sustainable and low‐cost separators for dendrite‐free, high‐performance AZIBs.

Advanced Functional Materials
Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CN), Central South University (CN), Huazhong Agricultural University (CN), Sichuan Agricultural University (CN), Sichuan Academy of Forestry (CN), University College London (GB)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Advanced battery technologies research
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