Recent advances in carbon materials for flexible zinc ion batteries

The ever-growing demands for wearable devices has stimulated the development of advanced flexible energy storage devices. Aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) have gained much attention due to their low cost and intrinsic safety. Carbon materials with excellent conductivity, high mechanical strength, and light weight, can be used to construct flexible ZIBs (FZIBs). Here, we summarize the recent advances in carbon materials (e.g., carbon nanotubes, carbon fibers, graphene) for high-performance FZIBs with one-dimensional cable-shaped, two-dimensional planar, and three-dimensional sandwich configurations. Ways for constructing different types of FZIBs for better electrochemical performance are emphasized. The vital roles of carbons as the conductive materials and current collectors of cathodes, the current collectors and host materials of anodes, and modifiers of functional separators are discussed. The challenges and prospects of advanced carbon materials for next-generation FZIBs are also briefly discussed.