Breaking the trade-off: Janus gel empowers flexible Zn-air batteries with simultaneous ultrahigh strength and ionic flux

The inherent trade-off between mechanical robustness and ionic transport efficiency in gel electrolytes has posed a long-standing challenge for advancing solid-state zinc-air batteries. Conventional approaches struggle to reconcile micron-scale pores (essential for mechanical reinforcement) with macroporous networks (critical for rapid ion migration). In this study, a novel strategy was employed to introduce micropores onto the skeleton of a macroporous gel. The X-ray tomography reveals this secondary structure for the first time. The zinc-air battery assembled by this gel exhibit the high ion conductivity of 205 mS cm −1 and undertake a stress of 984 Kpa. Additionally, the lifetimes of button cell and flexible Zinc-air battery reach 120 h and 97 h respectively.