Bio‐Inspired Oligocellulose‐Regulated Ice‐Water Interfaces Enable Sustained Ion Transport in Frozen Aqueous Zinc Batteries

ABSTRACT While highly concentrated salts and organic components enhance the subzero performance of zinc batteries by improving electrolyte fluidity and conductivity, their high cost and environmental pollution negate the inherent sustainability and economy of aqueous electrolytes. Herein, inspired by the ice‐inhibition mechanism of natural antifreeze glycoproteins, we designed oligomeric cellulose with an average degree of polymerization of 8 (OC‐8). At trace concentration, OC‐8 effectively suppresses ice recrystallization and induces a fourfold increase in inter‐ice water channels. In situ confocal fluorescence microscopy confirms that this interconnected network boosts ion transport by nearly an order of magnitude in cryogenic electrolytes. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations coupled with CHILL + structural analysis reveal that OC‐8 adsorbs at the ice‐water interface, perturbs interfacial hydrogen‐bond ordering, and stabilizes extended quasi‐liquid domains, enabling efficient Zn 2+ transport at low temperatures. Leveraging this antifreeze mechanism, Zn||Zn cells achieve stable cycling for over 1200 h at −30°C. The full Zn||NH 4 + ‐V 2 O 5 cell sustains remarkable long‐term stability over 3000 cycles, simultaneously suppressing zinc dendrite growth and detrimental side reactions. This work provides a fundamental mechanistic insight into saccharide‐based antifreeze agents and presents a bio‐inspired strategy for engineering an eco‐friendly, high‐performance, and durable antifreeze aqueous electrolyte.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Science
Published
2026-08-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.77291
Primary Topic
Membrane-based Ion Separation Techniques
Type
article
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article

Bio‐Inspired Oligocellulose‐Regulated Ice‐Water Interfaces Enable Sustained Ion Transport in Frozen Aqueous Zinc Batteries

Zhiyuan He, Cristina Carucci, Sunghak Park, Minmin Liang et al.
Advanced Science
Membrane-based Ion Separation Techniques
article

Bio‐Inspired Oligocellulose‐Regulated Ice‐Water Interfaces Enable Sustained Ion Transport in Frozen Aqueous Zinc Batteries

Zhiyuan He, Cristina Carucci, Sunghak Park, Minmin Liang, Wei Li, Xiaoting Chen, Kaiqi Li, Boya Yuan, Haoran Ma, Jingxuan Pan, Dan Wang, Zeyu Zhu, Chong Gao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT While highly concentrated salts and organic components enhance the subzero performance of zinc batteries by improving electrolyte fluidity and conductivity, their high cost and environmental pollution negate the inherent sustainability and economy of aqueous electrolytes. Herein, inspired by the ice‐inhibition mechanism of natural antifreeze glycoproteins, we designed oligomeric cellulose with an average degree of polymerization of 8 (OC‐8). At trace concentration, OC‐8 effectively suppresses ice recrystallization and induces a fourfold increase in inter‐ice water channels. In situ confocal fluorescence microscopy confirms that this interconnected network boosts ion transport by nearly an order of magnitude in cryogenic electrolytes. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations coupled with CHILL + structural analysis reveal that OC‐8 adsorbs at the ice‐water interface, perturbs interfacial hydrogen‐bond ordering, and stabilizes extended quasi‐liquid domains, enabling efficient Zn 2+ transport at low temperatures. Leveraging this antifreeze mechanism, Zn||Zn cells achieve stable cycling for over 1200 h at −30°C. The full Zn||NH 4 + ‐V 2 O 5 cell sustains remarkable long‐term stability over 3000 cycles, simultaneously suppressing zinc dendrite growth and detrimental side reactions. This work provides a fundamental mechanistic insight into saccharide‐based antifreeze agents and presents a bio‐inspired strategy for engineering an eco‐friendly, high‐performance, and durable antifreeze aqueous electrolyte.

Advanced Science
Beijing Institute of Technology (CN), Tangshan College (CN), University of Cagliari (IT), Beijing Research Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Technology (CN), Sungkyunkwan University (KR)
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 19%
Membrane-based Ion Separation Techniques
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