Bioinspired Ultrafast All-Climate Self-Charging Flow Battery

Abstract

Self-charging batteries represent a promising type of energy system for round-the-clock energy supply and delivery. Current state-of-the-art implementations predominantly employ solid-state electrodes that exploit spontaneous reactions between discharged catholytes and oxygen from the air. However, the inherent sluggish heterogeneous solid–gas interfacial reactions impose severe thermodynamic and kinetic constraints, limiting charging rates to hours. Inspired by nature’s rapid flavin-based extracellular electron-transfer mechanism, we developed an ultrafast all-climate self-charging battery based on flavin redox chemistry. Capitalizing on flavin’s fast reaction kinetics in liquid phases to break the bottleneck of solid-state reactions, the assembled self-charging flow battery demonstrates a record-high charging rate, with 90% of capacity achieved within 10 min. In situ/ex situ characterizations revealed that the enthalpically favorable inner-sphere electron transfer involving flavin’s isoalloxazine ring drives the ultrafast kinetics. By tailoring the solvation environment of the electrolyte via additive engineering, all-climate operations of the battery were achieved, demonstrating decent cycling stability in a wide temperature range between −20 and 50 °C. By mimicking the ubiquitous metabolic processes in nature, this as-fabricated ultrafast all-climate self-charging flow battery broadens the design of sustainable and green energy systems operating in harsh environments. © 2026 American Chemical Society