Flexible organic electrodes for batteries: A mini‐review

Abstract

The rise of flexible electronics creates a demand for inherently flexible and high‐performance energy storage devices. Conventional flexible batteries predominantly depend on inorganic electrode materials, whose intrinsic rigidity and limited resource availability pose challenges for future sustainable flexible electronics. Flexible organic electrodes (FOEs), built from organic redox‐active materials (ORAMs) that store charge through reversible redox reactions, represent a promising alternative. Leveraging molecular designability, inherent flexibility, resource sustainability, and compatibility with solution processing, FOEs can transcend the traditional “rigidity–performance” trade‐off. This Review systematically surveys recent progress and outlines persisting challenges in the development of FOEs for flexible rechargeable batteries. FOEs are classified into planar and fibrous configurations, and key fabrication strategies are discussed along with their effects on mechanical and electrochemical properties. The electrochemical mechanisms of ORAMs are elaborated, and the advantages of FOEs over inorganic counterparts are highlighted. A comparative performance analysis demonstrates that, through molecular design and structural engineering, FOEs can achieve electrochemical performance comparable or even superior to that of rigid electrodes, while retaining excellent mechanical compliance. The compatibility of electrolyte systems (liquid, gel, and solid) with flexible organic batteries (FOBs) is also evaluated. Finally, we identify critical challenges for practical adoption, including the rational design of ORAMs that simultaneously exhibit high electrochemical and mechanical performance, the development of compatible solid electrolytes, and deeper understanding of degradation under mechanical deformation. This review aims to offer forward‐looking insights to guide the development of next‐generation high‐performance and sustainable batteries with intrinsic flexibility.