Biopolymer‐based gel electrolytes for electrochemical energy Storage: Advances and prospects

Abstract

With the rapid development of wearable electronics, safety hazards and operational stability have drawn widespread attention in recent years. Biopolymers with low cost, eco‐friendly and biocompatibility are competitive candidates to replace traditional petroleum‐based materials in constructing gel polymer electrolytes. Biopolymer-based gel electrolytes (BGPEs) have exhibited broad application prospects through suitable structural designs and functionalization in flexible and smart electrochemical energy storage devices. This review summarized the recent advances of BGPEs with characteristic physicochemical properties and smart functionalities for application in electrochemical energy storage devices. The crosslinking methods and performance validation of BGPEs are also comprehensively reviewed and analyzed. Significantly, the functionalized BGPEs with self‐healing, stretchability, and thermotolerant abilities are emphasized. Finally, the remaining challenges and future directions of BGPEs for application in advanced electrochemical energy storage devices are outlined to provide guidance for their further development.