Professor Zhao Dawei from LRCM and the Team Led by Professor Yu Haipeng from Northeast Forestry University Have Jointly Published Their Research Findings in Energy Storage Materials

Cellulose and silk fibroin, as natural biopolymers, are derived from renewable resources such as wood, bamboo, and silk respectively. They possess excellent biocompatibility, degradability, and a rich structure of functional groups. With the growing demand for flexible electronics and sustainable energy storage, the development of bio-based gel electrolytes that combine high mechanical strength and excellent ionic conductivity has become a cutting-edge focus in the field of energy materials.

Recently, Professor Zhao Dawei from LRCM of our university, and Professor Yu Haipeng’s team from Northeast Forestry University, innovatively co-dissolved cellulose and silk fibroin using a green deep eutectic solvent (DES). Combined with an ethanol vapor-induced supramolecular self-assembly strategy, they successfully constructed a cellulose-silk fibroin gel electrolyte (CS-gel) with a dual-network structure. This CS-gel exhibits outstanding cycle stability, with a capacity retention rate of up to 97.67% after 1500 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g⁻¹, and maintains stable performance even under bending conditions and at a low temperature of -20 °C.

Construction and Functional Application of CS-gel

This research provides a new idea for the design of high-performance and sustainable flexible zinc-ion batteries, and has broad application prospects in fields such as wearable electronics, medical devices, and soft robots. The relevant research findings were published in Energy Storage Materials under the title “Bio-based supramolecular dual-network gel electrolytes with synergistic mechanical robustness and ionic conductivity for high-performance flexible Zn-ion batteries”. Professor Yu Haipeng and Professor Zhao Dawei are the co-corresponding authors of the paper.