Electrides, accommodating excess electrons in lattice voids as anions, have attracted considerable attention in both fundamental research and application development because of their interesting properties, such as ultralow work functions, high electronic mobility, high catalytic activity, and anisotropic electronic and optical properties. Recently, much research progress has been made in both types and applications of inorganic electrides because of the high stability. In this Perspective, we aim to summarize the recent development of inorganic electrides discovered and proposed by experiment and theoretical calculations, highlighting the main applications, including catalysis, metal-ion batteries, superconductivity, magnetism, and organic light-emitting diodes. We provide insights into the role of anionic electrons in electrides playing in the stability and properties. Finally, the problems, challenges, and opportunities are presented, which provide an outlook for future research.

3D carbon hosts can enable low‐stress Li metal anodes (LMAs) with improved structural and interfacial stability. However, the uneven Li+ flux and large concentration polarization, resulting from intrinsically poor Li affinity and limited porosity of carbon scaffolds, make the precise control of Li plating/stripping still one the key challenges facing advanced LMAs. Here it is demonstrated that a lightweight carbon scaffold, featuring parallel‐aligned porous fibers, can work well for homogeneous Li+ flux distribution and reduced concentration gradient to form a stable solid electrolyte interphase, and then synergistically guide smooth Li nucleation/growth even at low temperatures. As a result, the obtained LMAs delivers a high areal capacity up to 15 mAh cm−2, ultralong lifespan (4800 cycles at 4 mA cm−2) with very low voltage hysteresis of ≈21 mV, a high practically available specific capacity of 863.9 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles, and a long‐term stable behavior at low‐temperature operation. As coupling with the commercial LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cathodes and common carbonate‐based electrolyte, the corresponding practical cells also possess an ultralong lifespan and outstanding low‐temperature functionality. This study not only presents an advanced carbon host candidate but also sheds new light on crucial design principles of carbon scaffolds for practically feasible rechargeable metal batteries.

Electrides, which accommodate excess of electrons in lattice interstitials as anions, usually exhibit interesting properties and broad applications. Until now, most electrides, especially at high pressures, show semiconducting/insulating character arising from the strong localization of interstitial and orbital electrons. However, modulating their connectivity could turn them into metals and even superconductors. In this work, with the aid of first-principles particle swarm optimization, we have identified a series of pressure-induced Li-rich electrides in the Li-Te system, in which hollow Li n polyhedra accommodate the excess of electrons. With increasing Li content, these electrides undergo an interesting structural evolution. Meanwhile, the connection type of Li n polyhedra experiences transitions from vertex-or edge sharing, to face sharing, leading to a diverse distribution and connectivity of interstitial electrons. All identified electrides exhibit anionic electrons-dominated metallicity. More interestingly, Li 9 Te, with the highest content of Li 6 octahedra, is superconducting with a critical temperature (T c ) of 10.2 K at 75 GPa, which is much higher than typical electrides (e.g., 12CaO • 7Al 2 O 3 , Ca 2 N, and Y 2 C). Its superconductivity mainly originates from the coupling between hybridized electrons (anionic and atomic non-s-state ones) and Te-dominated phonons.

Achieving room-temperature superconductivity is an important goal in chemistry and physics. Excitingly, pressure-induced superconducting hydrides, a typical representative of LaH 10 with a critical temperature (T c ) of 250-260 K around 180-200 GPa, bring this goal within reach, igniting an irresistible wave of discovering new H-containing superconductors. Moreover, this breakthrough finding was achieved under the guidance of theoretical prediction.Thus far, the superconductivity of binary hydrides has been extensively explored. However, the high-temperature superconductor, facilitating practical application, is still rare. Ternary hydrides can provide more abundant structures resulting from diverse chemical compositions and synergistic charge transfer, combine the merits of different elements, and induce strong electronphonon coupling, which make them an appealing contender for superconductors. Recently, much research progress has been made in pressure-induced superconducting ternary hydrides. In this regard, we summarize the recent development of superconducting ternary hydrides, highlighting the chemical composition, structure, pressure, and T c value as well as the study of doping/ substitution on the known superconducting binary hydrides. The recent stateof-the-art of theoretical approaches for predicting superconductors and fundamental characters of ternary hydrides with high T c are outlined. On the other hand, the problems, challenges, and opportunities are presented, providing an outlook for future research.