Tutorial review on structure - dendrite growth relations in metal battery anode supports

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Battery Technology

Background:

• Anode supports are vital for secondary current collectors in metal batteries.
• Understanding surface and bulk chemistry is key to electrochemical performance.
• Existing research lacks a unified view on anode support-metal interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review emerging insights into anode support chemistry and electrochemical performance.
• To explore future research directions for improved battery cycling.
• To discuss case studies from lithium, sodium, and potassium metal anode literature.

Main Methods:

• Overview of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) structure and analysis.
• Detailed analysis of support roles in promoting cycling stability.
• Thermodynamic property analysis (enthalpy of infinite solution) for wetting prediction.

Main Results:

• Optimized supports are geometrically complex and electrochemically philic (e.g., lithiophilic, sodiophilic, potassiophilic).
• Oxygen surface chemistry (e.g., in rGO, SnO2) enables reversible metal-support interactions.
• Negative enthalpy of infinite solution promotes uniform metal wetting and low plating overpotential.

Conclusions:

• Geometrically complex and electrochemically philic supports enhance metal anode stability.
• Enthalpy of infinite solution is a key predictor of metal wetting behavior.
• This understanding can guide the design of advanced anode supports for next-generation batteries.