The emerging aqueous zinc-organic battery

Aqueous zinc-organic batteries (ZOBs) are an emerging class of new batteries that combine the advantages of aqueous zinc-ion batteries and organic cathode materials, thus maximizing the realization of renewable resources and environmental friendliness. In particular, the tunability of molecular structure and the diversity of organic reactions make organic materials have infinite potential in the field of energy storage, including aqueous ZOBs. Herein, we briefly present the development history, working principles and cell configurations of aqueous ZOBs and mainly address the considerable advances in controllable synthesis and rational design of organic cathode materials for aqueous ZOBs, covering small molecule compounds and polymers based on doping reaction and bond reaction. Especially, the merging framework structures and storage mechanisms are timely highlighted. In addition, the current challenges and future perspectives are finally discussed. We believe this review will afford guidelines and provide some inspirations for the development of advanced and efficient aqueous ZOBs.