Solid-state lithium (Li)–air batteries are recognized as a next-generation solution for energy storage to address the safety and electrochemical stability issues that are encountered in liquid battery systems1,2,3,4. However, conventional solid electrolytes are unsuitable for use in solid-state Li–air systems owing to their instability towards lithium metal and/or air, as well as the difficulty in constructing low-resistance interfaces5. Here we present an integrate. Solid-state lithium (Li)–air batteries are recognized as a next-generation solution for energy storage to address the safety and electrochemical stability issues that are encountered in liquid battery systems1,2,3,4. However, conventional solid electrolytes are unsuitable for use in solid-state Li–air systems owing to their instability towards lithium metal and/or air, as well as the difficulty in constructing low-resistance interfaces5. Here we present an integrated solid-state Li–air battery that contains an ultrathin, high-ion-conductive lithium-ion-exchanged zeolite X (LiX) membrane as the sole solid electrolyte. This electrolyte is integrated with cast lithium as the anode and carbon nanotubes as the cathode using an in situ assembly strategy. Owing to the intrinsic chemical stability of the zeolite, degeneration of the electrolyte from the effects of lithium or air is effectively suppressed. The battery has a capacity of 12,020 milliamp hours per gram of carbon nanotubes, and has a cycle life of 149 cycles at a current density of 500 milliamps per gram and at a capacity of 1,000 milliamp hours per gram. This cycle life is greater than those of batteries based on lithium aluminium germanium phosphate (12 cycles) and organic electrolytes (102 cycles) under the same conditions. The electrochemical performance, flexibility and stability of zeolite-based Li–air batteries confer practical applicability that could extend to other energy-storage systems, such as Li–ion, Na–air and Na–ion batteries.Li–air batteries have the highest theoretical energy density among existing battery systems and are expected to be prominent in the next generation of energy-storage devices1,2. However, several serious challenges concerning safety issues, decomposition and volatilization of the electrolyte, corrosion of the lithium anode and formation of lithium dendrites3—which stem from the use of organic electrolytes in conventional Li–air batteries4,5,6,7—still need to be addressed (Fig. 1a). To circumvent these challenges, it is essential to develop a solid-state Li–air battery (SSLAB), containing a solid electrolyte as the key component8,9,10. In addition to high ionic conductivity, superior stability towards the lithium metal anode and favourable interfacial compatibility, suitable solid electrolytes for SSLABs should have high stability towards the components of air—so that the battery can operate in ambient air11—and high resistance to oxidation to prevent corrosion by oxygen-reduction intermediates12. However, typical inorganic solid electrolytes that have high ionic conductivity and good safety profiles13—including garnets5, perovskites11, NASICONs14 and sulfides15—are currently not suitable owing to their instability towards lithium metal and/or air. Furthermore, the high electronic conductivities of solid electrolytes result in the nucleation of lithium inside the electrolytes, which generates short circuits in the batteries16,17. In addition, the large-scale production of SSLABs at low cost remains difficult, and the non-fle. Zeolites are an important class of inorganic crystalline microporous material that is widely used in the chemical industry20,21, and those that show high stability towards the components of air meet the fundamental requirement for solid electrolytes in SSLABs. Early studies22 showed that cations at SII sites (in front of the six-ring windows, inside supercages) and SIII sites (near the four-ring windows, also inside supercages) in zeolite X are the primary contributors to the conduction of ionic carriers. Among the various zeolites, the lithium-ion-exchanged zeolite X with a low silicon/aluminium (Si/Al) ratio of 1.0(LiX) has the highest lithium ion content at SIII sites and therefore the highest ionic conductivity23. However, LiX has not yet been applied as a solid electrolyte in energy-storage systems owing to the low strength and ionic conductivity of the fabricated zeolite pellets24,25,26.To investigate the intrinsic transport behaviour of lithium ions in LiX, the influence of grain-boundary resistance should be excluded. A lithium-ion-exchanged single crystal27 with an Si/Al ratio approaching 1.0 (SC-LiX) was prepared to characterize the intrinsic ionic conductivity of this zeolite (Extended Data Fig. 1a). The elemental composition of the sample was analysed by X-ray fluorescence and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) measurements (Si/Al = 1.03, Li+/(Li+ + Na+) = 0.98), and N2 adsor. It is suggested that rational construction of the interface between a solid LiXZM electrolyte and the cathode might overcome the excessive contact impedance that is observed in batteries with conventional inorganic solid electrolytes. First, as the cathode, nitrogen-doped CNTs were grown in situ on stainless-steel mesh by chemical vapour deposition19 (CNT-SS; Extended Data Fig. 3a). One side of the CNT-SS was then subjected to plasma treatment to render the CNTs hydrophilic. An NaX zeolite crystal seed slurry was coated on this side (Extended Data Fig. 3b), followed by hydrothermal treatment to form NaXZM. After lithium-ion exchange, the integrated cathode–solid electrolyte structure was obtained (C-LiXZM; Fig. 2a). It is worth noting that the hydrophilic side of CNT-SS is favourable for the dispersal and fitting of the zeolite crystal seed, whereas the hydrophobic side serves as the cathode in contact with air, providing sufficient protection for the discharge products (Li2O2) against water erosion. Both surfaces exhibit good affinity for the ionic liquid electrolyte14,32, which is beneficial both for the further migration of lithium ions towards the cathode and for the protection of Li2O2. As shown in Fig. 2b, the CNTs grow evenly on the stainless-steel mesh, and the interwoven spaces created by the CNTs provide adequate space for the transport of oxygen and for the storage of discharge products. The cross-section scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of the integrated C-LiXZM (Fig. 2c) shows that LiXZM grows in situ on t. To demonstrate the advantages of the interface constructed between the cathode and the solid electrolyte, non-integrated SSLABs were also assembled using a separate CNT-SS cathode and LiXZM (denoted C|LiXZM; Extended Data Fig. 4a, b). The commercial NASCION-type solid electrolyte Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5P3O12 (LAGP; Extended Data Fig. 4c) (conductivity 4.5 × 10−4 S cm−1) was also used for comparison. As shown in Fig. 2d, the non-integrated SSLABs based on C|LAGP and C|LiXZM display similar specific capacities of 3,451 and 4,454 mAh gCNT−1, respectively, at a current density of 500 mA g−1, illustrating the potential for LiXZM as a solid electrolyte to replace LAGP in practical applications. However, the reversible capacity of the integrated SSLAB containing C-LiXZM is three times as large (12,020 mAh gCNT−1). The excellent capacity of the integrated battery is a result of the contact between the cathode and the zeolite solid electrolyte, which simultaneously facilitates mass transport and minimizes interfacial resistance. In addition, the integrated SSLAB displays a lower overpotential during charging and discharging compared to the batteries based on C|LiXZM and C|LAGP (Extended Data Fig. 4d), demonstrating the superior reversibility of the battery with C-LiXZM. Similar results were obtained at different current densities (Extended Data Fig. 4e), indicating a superior rate performance.By.