The dynamics and trends of the portable electronics market drives researches to develop energy sources with newer properties. The advancement of augmented reality has opened windows of opportunities for optical modification of batteries to be implemented in transparent devices similar to the heads-up display. While realization of products is still in its infant ages, it is without question that technology will pursue such directions. Zinc air batteries hold numerous strongholds that advertise itself as the post lithium ion technology. The system’s abundant energy density along with advantages such as cheaper materials cost and environmentally friendliness has prompted this study to further investigate its potentials.

In this presented work, we report the first ever fabrication of transparent secondary zinc air batteries. The system utilizes a commercial transparent stainless-steel mesh as the current collectors. Owning to the unique structure of the battery, the cell exhibits extreme mechanical versatility as free bending without tariffing the cell performance is possible. The average transparency in the visible light region was recorded at 48.8%. Electrochemical analysis revealed stable galvanostatic discharge-charge cycle operations, exceeding more than 100 turnovers for every bended angle. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy results observed minimal deviation between the conformational states.

This research’s potential lies in the simple technique to achieve optical properties in power sources that can be extended to further areas. Mass scale production is also opportunistic as the process utilized are favorable enough for large productions.