Topic: Aqueous Batteries for Sustainable and Next-Generation Energy Storage

The rapid expansion of renewable energy and the growing demand for safe, cost-effective, and sustainable energy storage technologies have stimulated extensive research into aqueous batteries as promising alternatives to conventional organic electrolyte-based systems. Benefiting from intrinsic safety, environmental compatibility, low cost, and excellent ionic conductivity, aqueous batteries—including aqueous zinc-ion, lithium-ion, sodium-ion, and other multivalent ion batteries—have emerged as attractive candidates for next-generation grid-scale storage and emerging applications.

However, achieving practical aqueous batteries requires overcoming critical challenges associated with limited electrochemical stability windows, interfacial degradation, dendrite growth, side reactions, and sluggish reaction kinetics. Recent advances in electrode material design, electrolyte regulation, artificial interphase construction, and mechanistic understanding have opened new opportunities for enhancing energy density, cycling stability, and device reliability.

This Special Topic aims to highlight recent breakthroughs and emerging strategies in aqueous battery materials, interfaces, mechanisms, and technologies. Contributions focusing on advanced electrode architectures, electrolyte chemistry, fundamental reaction mechanisms, sustainable materials, and scalable battery systems are highly encouraged. The collection seeks to provide new insights into the development of safe, durable, and sustainable energy storage solutions for future energy infrastructures.

Aqueous batteries, Zinc-ion batteries, Sustainable energy storage, Electrolyte engineering, Electrode materials, Interfacial chemistry, Multivalent ion batteries, Energy storage technologies, Battery safety, Large-scale storage systems.