Recent Progress of Porous Materials in Lithium‐Metal Batteries

Abstract

Lithium‐metal batteries (LMBs) are regarded as one of the best choices for next‐generation energy storage devices. However, the low Coulombic efficiency, lithium dendrite growth, and volume expansion of lithium‐metal anodes are dragging LMBs out of successful commercialization. Herein, the application of various porous materials in LMBs is focused on. First, several representative works are summarized to highlight the recent key progress of porous materials in LMBs, categorized into current collectors, thin 3D “hosts,” protection layers, and separators. Then, the existing challenges are discussed and future research needs to present more thorough characterizations of porous materials are advocated for, such as their porosity, electric conductivity, specific surface area, and mass density, to elaborate on their positive influence on electrochemical performance. Finally, future strategies with porous materials to build long‐cycle‐life, high‐energy‐density lithium‐metal full cells toward realistic performance targets are envisioned.

Hierarchically Porous Silica Membrane as Separator for High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Batteries

“…[19] Sufficient mechanical strength of separators can effectively mitigate the safety risks by preventing the puncture of Li dendrites. [10] Figure 1i shows the plots of loading-unloading versus displacement for each type of separator. The elastic modulus and hardness of separators were calculated from the sequential loading-unloading curves (Table 1).…”

“…[8,9] Moreover, the wide pore size distribution of PP separators leads to inhomogeneous Li-ion flux during charging and discharging, which can potentially induce the growth of Li dendrites puncturing the separator, thereby causing the dreadful safety hazard. [10,11] In the past decade, many efforts have been concentrated on designing new separators beyond polyolefin or modifying polyolefin-based separators. [12][13][14][15][16] For instance, non-polyolefin (e.g., polyacrylonitrile) separators with increased porosity and enhanced electrolyte wettability have been fabricated by the electrospinning method, [17] but their poor mechanical strength and thermal stability make them less attractive in commercialization.…”

Commercialization‐Driven Electrodes Design for Lithium Batteries: Basic Guidance, Opportunities, and Perspectives

“…Recently, solid electrolytes with enhanced safety have received great attention due to the nonflammable nature and the increase of volumetric energy density for all-solidstate lithium batteries. [296][297][298] Solid electrolytes are mainly divided into three types: polymer, inorganic ceramic, and its hybrids. [299][300][301] The poor interfacial contact between electrode and solid electrolyte leads to a large charge transfer resistance, and a huge polarization, thus, inducing poor cycling performance.…”

Status and Challenges of Cathode Materials for Room‐Temperature Sodium–Sulfur Batteries

“…In recent years, porous carbon matrix applied as sulfur/ polysulfides reservoir has made great process. [53][54][55] The highly conductive carbon matrix with abundant porous structure or polar species plays key role in alleviating the volumetric swelling as well as physically confining the dissoluble intermediates of NaPSs to avoid shuttle effect. In addition, the construction of novel carbonaceous host with high surface area could endow the improved electronic conductivity with fast electron/charge transfer and accommodate the sulfur active material with high mass loading.…”