Interface Engineering for Aqueous Aluminum Metal Batteries: Current Progresses and Future Prospects

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Aqueous aluminum metal batteries (AMBs) offer advantages like low cost and high safety.
• Metallic aluminum anodes suffer from poor stability in aqueous electrolytes due to corrosion and side reactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the scientific challenges of the aluminum anode/electrolyte interface (AEI) in AMBs.
• To provide an overview of interface engineering strategies for stabilizing the AEI.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of AEI challenges and solutions.
• Analysis of interface engineering principles for aluminum anodes.
• Discussion of strategies to mitigate self-corrosion and hydrogen evolution.

Main Results:

• Identified key scientific challenges at the Al anode/electrolyte interface (AEI).
• Systematically reviewed recent progress in rational interface engineering for AEI stabilization.
• Highlighted the importance of addressing thermodynamic instability and side reactions.

Conclusions:

• Stabilizing the AEI is crucial for advancing high-performance AMBs.
• Interface engineering offers promising pathways to overcome Al anode limitations.
• Future research should focus on optimizing Al anodes and aqueous electrolytes for durable AEI.