Cellulose Materials Integrate Ion Transport, Interfacial Chemistry, and Structural Stability in Zinc Battery Systems

Rechargeable zinc batteries offer a promising route toward safe, low-cost, and sustainable energy storage, but their practical application is hindered by nonuniform ion transport, parasitic interfacial reactions, and progressive structural degradation. Cellulose is attractive because its oxygen-containing functional groups, hierarchical fibrous structure, and processable networks can be tailored for zinc anodes, electrolytes, separators, cathodes, and flexible devices. This Review discusses recent advances in cellulose-based materials for mild aqueous zinc-ion batteries and alkaline zinc-air batteries, focusing on how chemical modification, nanoscale organization, pore structure, and wet-state mechanics affect ion conduction, electrode/electrolyte contact, and structural retention. Particular attention is given to the evidence supporting proposed mechanisms and to the distinct reaction environments of the two systems, including Zn²⁺ transport and plating/stripping in mild electrolytes, and OH⁻ transport, zincate redistribution, ZnO evolution, and air-electrode processes in alkaline cells. The Review also examines performance trade-offs, component contributions in multicomponent systems, and the limits of comparisons across different testing conditions. By linking cellulose chemistry and architecture with chemistry-specific battery requirements, it provides practical guidance for material selection, mechanism verification, and device-oriented design, while identifying chemical durability, dimensional stability, feedstock consistency, standardized evaluation, and scalable manufacturing as priorities for future development.