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Advanced Electrode Materials for Batteries: Design and Performance
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Advanced Electrode Materials for Batteries: Design and Performance

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 1544

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cong Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Interests: aqueous zinc ion battery; lithium ion battery; li-S battery; energy materials; nanomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Jingfa Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Interests: electrochemistry; rechargeable secondary battery; micro-/nanostructure; supercapacitors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue is to present the current progress in the field of Advanced Electrode Materials for Next-Generation “Beyond Lithium-Ion” batteries, such as sodium/potassium/zinc ion battery, lithium–sulfur battery, lithium–air battery, etc. With the material-level advancements in LIBs approaching their limits, the demand for materials with lower cost and higher energy density and the growing concerns related to natural resources have triggered the investigation of the so-called “Beyond Lithium-Ion” technologies. It is unlikely that a single “Beyond Lithium-Ion technology” will address all the issues associated with Lithium-Ion batteries. In this Special Issue, we aim to gather and facilitate research on advanced electrode materials to discuss various technologies and point out their statuses and the aspects in which they may outperform Lithium-Ion batteries.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Dr. Cong Guo
Prof. Dr. Jingfa Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • electrode material
  • sodium/potassium/zinc ion battery
  • lithium–sulfur battery
  • lithium–air battery
  • electrode design
  • electrochemical performances
  • micro/nanostructures

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4364 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Nitrogen-Doping and Defect Engineering in Hard Carbon: Unlocking Ultrahigh Rate Capability and Long-Cycling Stability for Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes
by Na Li, Hongpeng Li and Haibo Huang
Materials 2025, 18(10), 2397; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18102397 - 21 May 2025
Viewed by 40
Abstract
Hard carbon (HC) anodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) face challenges such as sluggish Na⁺ diffusion kinetics and structural instability. Herein, we propose a synergistic nitrogen-doping and defect-engineering strategy to unlock ultrahigh-rate capability and long-term cyclability in biomass-derived hard carbon. A scalable synthesis route [...] Read more.
Hard carbon (HC) anodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) face challenges such as sluggish Na⁺ diffusion kinetics and structural instability. Herein, we propose a synergistic nitrogen-doping and defect-engineering strategy to unlock ultrahigh-rate capability and long-term cyclability in biomass-derived hard carbon. A scalable synthesis route is developed via hydrothermal carbonization of corn stalk, followed by controlled pyrolysis with urea, achieving uniform nitrogen incorporation into the carbon matrix. Comprehensive characterization reveals that nitrogen doping introduces tailored defects, expands interlayer spacing, and optimizes surface pseudocapacitance. The resultant N-doped hard carbon (NC-2) delivers a remarkable reversible capacity of 259 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 with 91% retention after 100 cycles. And analysis demonstrates a dual Na⁺ storage mechanism combining surface-driven pseudocapacitive adsorption (89% contribution at 1.0 mV s−1) and diffusion-controlled intercalation facilitated by reduced charge transfer resistance (56.9 Ω) and enhanced ionic pathways. Notably, NC-2 exhibits exceptional rate performance (124.0 mAh g−1 at 1.0 A g−1) and sustains 95% capacity retention over 500 cycles at 1.0 A g−1. This work establishes a universal defect-engineering paradigm for carbonaceous materials, offering fundamental insights into structure–property correlations and paving the way for sustainable, high-performance SIB anodes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Electrode Materials for Batteries: Design and Performance)
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17 pages, 4793 KiB  
Article
Ultrafast Rechargeable Aluminum-Chlorine Batteries Enabled by a Confined Chlorine Conversion Chemistry in Molten Salts
by Junling Huang, Linhan Xu, Yu Wang, Xiaolin Wu, Meng Zhang, Hao Zhang, Xin Tong, Changyuan Guo, Kang Han, Jianwei Li, Jiashen Meng and Xuanpeng Wang
Materials 2025, 18(8), 1868; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18081868 - 18 Apr 2025
Viewed by 273
Abstract
Rechargeable metal chloride batteries, with their high discharge voltage and specific capacity, are promising for next-generation sustainable energy storage. However, sluggish solid-to-gas conversion kinetics between solid metal chlorides and gaseous Cl2 cause unsatisfactory rate capability and limited cycle life, hindering their further [...] Read more.
Rechargeable metal chloride batteries, with their high discharge voltage and specific capacity, are promising for next-generation sustainable energy storage. However, sluggish solid-to-gas conversion kinetics between solid metal chlorides and gaseous Cl2 cause unsatisfactory rate capability and limited cycle life, hindering their further applications. Here we present a rechargeable aluminum-chlorine (Al-Cl2) battery that relies on a confined chlorine conversion chemistry in a molten salt electrolyte, exhibiting ultrahigh rate capability and excellent cycling stability. Both experimental analysis and theoretical calculations reveal a reversible solution-to-gas conversion reaction between AlCl4− and Cl2 in the cathode. The designed nitrogen-doped porous carbon cathode enhances Cl2 adsorption, thereby improving the cycling lifespan and coulombic efficiency of the battery. The resulting Al-Cl2 battery demonstrates a high discharge plateau of 1.95 V, remarkable rate capability without capacity decay at different rates from 5 to 50 A g−1, and good cycling stability with over 1200 cycles at a rate of 10 A g−1. Additionally, we implemented a carbon nanofiber membrane on the anode side to mitigate dendrite growth, which further extends the cycle life to 3000 cycles at an ultrahigh rate of 30 A g−1. This work provides a new perspective on the advancement of high-rate metal chloride batteries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Electrode Materials for Batteries: Design and Performance)
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21 pages, 8160 KiB  
Article
Solid-State Diffusion Bonding of Aluminum to Copper for Bimetallic Anode Fabrication
by Javier de Prado, Børre Tore Børresen, Victoria Utrilla and Alejandro Ureña
Materials 2024, 17(21), 5333; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17215333 - 31 Oct 2024
Viewed by 849
Abstract
The diffusion-bonding technique has been utilized to join various Al alloys (AA1060, AA2024, AA3003) to Cu for bimetallic anode application. This process aims to achieve robust metallic continuity to facilitate electron transfer, while carefully managing the growth of the intermetallic layer at the [...] Read more.
The diffusion-bonding technique has been utilized to join various Al alloys (AA1060, AA2024, AA3003) to Cu for bimetallic anode application. This process aims to achieve robust metallic continuity to facilitate electron transfer, while carefully managing the growth of the intermetallic layer at the bonding interface. This control preserves the active volume of aluminum and prevents excessive brittleness of the anode. Optimization efforts have focused on different pressures, surface treatments of parent materials, and bonding parameters (temperature 450–500 °C and time 5–60 min). The optimal conditions identified include low bonding pressures (8 MPa), surface treatment involving polishing followed by chemical cleaning of the surfaces to be bonded, and energetic bonding conditions tailored to each specific aluminum alloy. Preliminary electrochemical characterization via cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests has demonstrated high reversibility intercalation/deintercalation reactions for up to seven cycles. The presence of the different alloying elements appears to contribute significantly to maintaining the high intercalation/deintercalation reaction reversibility without considerable modification of the reaction potentials. This effect may be attributed to alloying elements effectively reducing the overall alloy volume expansion, potentially forming highly reversible ternary/quaternary active phases, and creating a porous reaction layer on the exposed aluminum surface. These factors along with the influence of the Cu parent material collectively reduce the stress during volume expansion, which is the responsible phenomenon of the anode degradation in common Al anodes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Electrode Materials for Batteries: Design and Performance)
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