Recently, the research team at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), under the leadership of Professor Yang Zhao from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, has made significant strides in the field of micro-energy storage. Their latest research paper, titled "Strain-Anchored Iodine Strategy for High-Performance Zinc-Iodine Microbatteries to Power Semi-Bionic Microrobots," was published in the prestigious international journal Advanced Functional Materials (DOI: 10.1002/adfm.76381).

Focusing on the pressing challenge of microscale energy supply in the burgeoning fields of microrobots and semi-bionic systems, this study introduces an innovative "strain-anchored" electrode structural design strategy. The approach involves constructing a self-shrinkable conductive hydrogel framework composed of polyvinyl alcohol and carbon nanotubes. During volume compression, internal stress is applied to the carbon nanotubes, inducing bending deformation and lattice compression. This process effectively regulates the electronic structure of the carbon material, enhancing its adsorption capacity for polyiodide species.

This novel strategy substantially improves the electrochemical active surface area and polyiodide ion anchoring capability of the electrode. As a result, it significantly lowers the energy barrier for iodine redox reactions, accelerates reaction kinetics, and mitigates the shuttle effect. The zinc-iodine microbatteries developed using this strategy have achieved remarkable breakthroughs in areal capacity and energy density. They deliver stable voltage and milliampere-level current under an ultra-lightweight condition of approximately 56 milligrams, successfully powering a semi-bionic bee robot equipped with a Bluetooth module.

This research not only provides a new technological pathway for the integrated development of micro-energy storage devices and intelligent microsystems but also offers a fresh paradigm for efficient energy supply in microrobots and bio-integrated systems, paving the way for future advancements in these cutting-edge fields.