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Flexible Zinc Battery Electrolytes Based on PVA/PAA/PAM: From Ion Transport Regulation to Zinc Dendrite Suppression

Ke Lei, Ruining Wang, Jing Deng
Vol.5, No.4, pp.56-80, 2026 DOI: 10.62051/ijmsts.v5n4.07 August 27, 2026
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Abstract: The rapid development of flexible wearable electronics has imposed comprehensive requirements on energy storage devices, including safety, thinness, stretchability, and high reliability. Traditional lithium batteries suffer from issues such as flammability, high cost, and insufficient flexibility. In contrast, flexible aqueous zinc batteries are regarded as an important alternative due to the abundance of zinc resources, moderate operating voltage, environmental friendliness, and high safety. However, their performance is limited by bottlenecks such as slow ion transport in the electrolyte, poor interfacial stability, and the tendency for zinc dendrite growth. PVA/PAA/PAM-based hydrogel electrolytes, with advantages such as film-forming ability, adhesiveness, water retention, and strong designability, provide a new approach for regulating Zn2+ migration and suppressing dendrite growth, and thus have become a current research hotspot. Flexible aqueous zinc-ion batteries are considered promising energy storage devices for wearable and portable electronics because of their intrinsic safety, low cost, and environmental compatibility. However, practical deployment remains hindered by sluggish ion transport in hydrogel electrolytes, unstable electrode/electrolyte interfaces, limited mechanical robustness, and severe zinc dendrite growth during repeated cycling. This study focuses on polyvinyl alcohol/polyacrylic acid/polyacrylamide (PVA/PAA/PAM)-based hydrogel electrolytes and systematically analyzes the structural basis and synergistic regulation mechanisms that enable improved ionic conduction and dendrite suppression.  By integrating complementary molecular interactions, the composite hydrogel can construct continuous ion-conduction pathways, reduce the activation energy for ion migration, and regulate the Zn2+ solvation structure through reversible coordination with polar groups. In addition, crosslinking engineering, double-network or interpenetrating-network design, and nanofiller incorporation are effective strategies for balancing ionic conductivity, tensile durability, and interfacial stability. The introduction of a homogeneous polymer matrix can further homogenize the local electric field at the zinc anode surface, thereby mitigating tip-induced deposition and inhibiting dendrite propagation. From a device-level perspective, PVA/PAA/PAM composite electrolytes also improve dimensional stability, flexibility under bending, and operational reliability under repeated deformation. The review concludes that the cooperative design of polymer chemistry, network architecture, and ion-solvation regulation is the key route for overcoming the conductivity-mechanics-dendrite suppression trade-off in flexible zinc batteries. Future research should emphasize wide-temperature operation, self-healing interfaces, and scalable manufacturing to bridge the gap between laboratory demonstrations and practical applications.
Keywords: Flexible zinc batteries, PVA/PAA/PAM hydrogel electrolyte, Ion transport regulation, Zinc dendrite suppression, Solvation structure engineering, Interfacial stability
APA Citation: Ke Lei, Ruining Wang, Jing Deng (2026). Flexible Zinc Battery Electrolytes Based on PVA/PAA/PAM: From Ion Transport Regulation to Zinc Dendrite Suppression. International Journal of Materials Science and Technology Studies, 5(4), 56-80. https://doi.org/10.62051/ijmsts.v5n4.07

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