Catalysis for Efficient Zinc–Iodine Batteries

ABSTRACT Aqueous zinc–iodine batteries (ZIBs) stand out as promising energy storage systems due to their high energy density, long cycle life, and intrinsic safety. Their further development is mainly hampered by the polyiodide shuttle effect and the sluggish iodine redox kinetics occurring primarily at the cathode. An effective strategy to address these issues is to introduce catalytically active materials, which can regulate the local electronic structure, promote multielectron iodine conversion, and strongly immobilize iodine species. This mini‐review describes recent advances in catalytic systems including graphitic carbon‐based hosts, transition metal‐based materials, organic frameworks and molecules together with a detailed mechanistic analysis of their activity. Prospects for the future development of high‐performance and sustainable ZIBs are also provided.