Teng Du, Shaofang Zheng, Chaoyang Wu, Xue Dong, Qian Zhang, Haitao Ren, Lin Lei, Wenqi Song, Shaoqing Zhang, Changgong Meng, Zongcheng Miao
ABSTRACT With the rapid development of renewable energy, efficient, safe, and long‐lasting energy storage technologies have become crucial for driving energy transformation. Battery performance optimization is highly focused on, given that battery separators, as key components, directly impact battery safety, energy density, and cycle life. Traditional battery separators, represented by polyolefins, suffer from inadequate thermal‐mechanical stability, random pore size distribution, poor hydrophilicity leading to poor electrolyte wettability, and the trade‐off between high porosity and mechanical strength, which restrict the advancement of high‐safety, high‐energy‐density battery technology. Zeolites, with their unique microporous structures, adjustable pore sizes, high specific surface area, easily modifiable structures and properties, excellent chemical stability, and thermal stability, exhibit significant potential as battery separator materials. For clarity, this review uses “Zeolite membrane” for standalone inorganic layers (e.g., free‐standing ZSM‐5 nanosheet assemblies), “Composite separator” for polymer‐supported hybrids (e.g., zeolite‐PVDF blends), and “Zeolite separator” as a general term encompassing both types. This paper systematically reviews the functional roles of zeolites in battery separators, including mechanisms such as ion‐selective transport, intermediate inhibition, metal dendrite regulation, and electrolyte stabilization. It analyses the main challenges faced in large‐scale preparation and industrial application, such as complex and costly manufacturing processes, insufficient long‐term material stability, poor compatibility with substrates, and the need to optimize multi‐system adaptability. The paper also provides future research directions, aiming to offer theoretical guidance and technical references for developing advanced battery systems with high safety, high energy density, and long cycle life.