Freeze-resistant and robust gel electrolyte for flexible aluminum-air batteries

Flexible aluminum-air batteries have great prospects in wearable devices and various engineering applications. However, it is still a huge challenge for flexible aluminum-air batteries to operate stable under severe cold conditions. The key to solving this problem is to develop freeze-resistant electrolytes with high mechanical performance. Therefore, a novel PVA/BC-EG gel electrolyte for flexible aluminum-air battery was prepared in this study. The crystallization resistance and abundant hydrogen bonds of the PVA/BC-EG electrolytes endow them with freeze-resistant and high mechanical performance. The conductivity and elongation of the electrolytes can reach 21.383 mS/cm and 441.529% even at -20 ℃. The flexible aluminum-air batteries assembled with the PVA/BC-EG electrolytes can still maintain excellent electrochemical characteristics after fatigue-stretching 2000 times under subzero conditions.