Open research questions in Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies

What the literature leaves open

• reliance on flammable organic electrolytes in traditional lithium-ion batteries, - limitations in scalable synthesis methods, - need for further research on defect-structure engineering

  Unraveling the Underlying Mechanism of the Li+ Migration Inside Halide Solid-State Electrolytes: Structural Tuning and Defect Manipulation · 2026 · DOI

• The paper identifies a research gap in the development of solid-state electrolytes with high lithium conductivity and stability. There is a need for scalable and cost-effective synthesis methods for halide solid-state electrolytes. The authors highlight the importance of understanding the structure-property relationships of halide electrolytes to optimize their performance.

  Unraveling the Underlying Mechanism of the Li+ Migration Inside Halide Solid-State Electrolytes: Structural Tuning and Defect Manipulation · 2026 · DOI

• There is a need for further research on the utilization of materials that are derivatives of natural substances, - There is a need for further research on the recyclability of binder choices, - There is a need for further research on proposing potential recycling strategies

  Binder Alternatives and Manufacturing Challenges in Emerging Lithium Battery Technologies · 2026 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap between laboratory-scale innovation and industrial deployment in the development of lithium-based energy storage technologies. It also identifies a gap in the development of sustainable material alternatives and more efficient manufacturing routes. The paper notes that emerging chemistries face additional barriers related to yield, process control, and defect management.

  Binder Alternatives and Manufacturing Challenges in Emerging Lithium Battery Technologies · 2026 · DOI

• Further analysis considering Maxwell-Stefan couplings for the Li+/Na+ and the vacancies - Investigation of the effects of surface exchange, bulk diffusivity, and lattice distortions on ion diffusion - Study of the autocatalytic rate increase and apparent superdiffusive response in Li-Na exchange

  Crossover dynamics of non-Fickian ionic diffusion in solids · 2026 · DOI

• The prevailing framework for describing ion transport in solids remains rooted in classical Fickian diffusion. This idealization often fails in materials where transport is shaped by nanoscale confinement, lattice dynamics, or coupling to electronic hopping processes. There is a need for new methods to probe ion transport in solids and understand non-Fickian ion diffusion.

  Crossover dynamics of non-Fickian ionic diffusion in solids · 2026 · DOI

• The sluggish lithium-ion transport kinetics at the interphases. The uncontrolled dendritic Li growth and accumulation of isolated dead Li. The irreversible electrolyte depletion leading to early failure of the battery. The need for a deeper understanding of the interfacial chemistry and kinetics in lithium metal batteries.

  Dual-additive enabled inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interphase for high-rate lithium negative electrodes · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of a simple and effective strategy to construct a robust and highly conductive solid electrolyte interphase for high-rate lithium negative electrodes. The need for a deeper understanding of the interfacial chemistry and kinetics in lithium metal batteries. The challenge of achieving long-lasting high-rate performance in lithium negative electrodes due to interfacial impedance and dendritic Li growth.

  Dual-additive enabled inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interphase for high-rate lithium negative electrodes · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of compatible separators for sodium-metal batteries hinders their practical application. The intrinsic properties of sodium metal lead to dendrite growth and safety issues. There is a need for a simple and effective modification of commercial separators to address these issues.

  A bamboo-carbon-coated separator with biomimetic ion channels for high-loading sodium metal anodes · 2026 · DOI

• Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a powerful, non-destructive probe of charge-transfer and transport processes within SEs and across electrode/SE interfaces but quantitatively connecting measured impedance spectra to the underlying microstructural features remains an open modeling challenge.

  Microstructure-Resolved Impedance Modeling of Solid-State Batteries · 2026

• ABSTRACT Electrochemical degradation at the cathode/solid‐electrolyte interface critically limits the performance of sulfide‐based solid‐state batteries; however, its nanoscale origin remains unclear.

  Visualizing a Li‐Depleted Amorphous Cathode–Electrolyte Interphase in Sulfide Solid‐State Batteries Using In Situ Cryogenic Electron Microscopy · 2026 · DOI

• However, the correlations between the structural characteristics in the amorphous phase and Li + transport behavior remain underexplored, limiting further promotion of the ionic conductivities of these SEs.

  Near-Saturated Coordinated Cations in Oxyhalide Superionic Conductors Boost High-Rate All-Solid-State Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• Despite tremendous efforts in catalyzing the sulfur reduction reaction (SRR) in high-capacity lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries, understanding the universal and quantitative structure–property relationships (UQSPRs) of SRR remains elusive.

  Data-Driven Insight into the Universal Structure–Property Relationship of Catalysts in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• A prerequisite for overcoming these challenges is to establish a comprehensive knowledge of CEI properties, which remains elusive and is often underestimated.

  Review on Cathode‐Electrolyte Interphase for Stabilizing Interfaces in Solid‐State Lithium Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• However, the practical applications of Li─S batteries are significantly limited by the shuttle effect caused by intermediate lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and slow redox kinetics.

  Heteroatom‐Synergistic Effect on Anchoring Polysulfides In Chalcone‐Linked Nanographene Covalent Organic Frameworks for High‐Performance Li─S Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• Although this issue is addressed to some extent by modulating the current collector interface, the effectiveness of these modifications in improving the performance of AFSMBs under extremely high-rate conditions is still insufficient.

  In Situ Integration of Rapid Ion-Diffusion Interlayers on Cu Current Collectors toward Ultrafast Anode-Free Sodium Metal Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• Metal sulfides are emerging as multifunctional mediators to address the shuttle effect and lithium dendrite growth in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs), yet their structure-property-catalysis relationships remain underexplored.

  Recent Advances and Strategies of Metal Sulfides for Accelerating Polysulfide Redox and Regulating Li Plating · 2025 · DOI

• Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are severely limited by the shuttling behavior of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and slow catalytic conversion kinetics.

  Atomic-Level Asymmetric Regulation of Co–N 3 S 1 Catalysts Accelerates Polysulfide Trapping and Conversion in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• While transition metal‐based heterostructured catalysts are promising, their precise engineering and electrochemical reconstruction remain poorly understood.

  Anionic MOF‐Derived Ni/Ni 1‐x O Heterojunctions with Electrochemically Induced Vacancy Reconstruction: Enabling High‐Rate and Stable Room‐Temperature Na–S Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• However, parasitic reactions involving solvents and lithium metal induce safety risks under thermal abuse conditions and poor lifespan during room‐temperature cycles, which are rarely investigated.

  Thermoresponsive Mono‐Solvent Electrolyte Inhibiting Parasitic Reactions for Safe Lithium Metal Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• Despite these advances, a comprehensive understanding of how anionic defect‐rich TMCs (AD‐TMCs) modulate electrochemical processes remains elusive, particularly for solid‐state Li–S batteries.

  Anion‐Defect Engineering in Transition Metal Compounds for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries: Current Progress, Mechanistic Insights, and Future Directions · 2025 · DOI

• However, the application is limited by their poor cycle life due to the inherently insulating properties of sulfur and lithium sulfide, the inevitable shuttle effect originates from the slow conversion kinetics of polysulfides (LiPSs), and the volume expansion during the charge/discharge process.

  Adsorption‐Catalysis Synergy Boosting the Conversion of Polysulfide over Mesoporous Carbon Confined Molecular Catalysts · 2025 · DOI

• While these oxyhalides are promising for use in solid‐state batteries, research in this class of materials is still in its infancy, and further research into understanding their structure, processability in air and with solvents, and their potential usage as cathode coatings needs to be explored in greater depth.

  Progress and Challenges in Li M OCl 4 and Na M OCl 4 ( M = Nb, Ta) Oxyhalide Solid Electrolytes for Solid‐State Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• While this decomposition increases cell capacity, it reduces ionic conductivity, and its link to carbon characteristics in sulfur cathodes remains underexplored.

  Delineating the Intricate Impact of Carbon in All‐solid‐state Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries · 2025 · DOI

• Liquid electrolyte systems universally undergo rapid capacity decay regardless of the chosen metal, whereas solid‐state systems demonstrate material‐dependent cyclability, with the cycle life predominantly limited by their susceptibility to internal short circuits.

  Comprehensive Analysis of Anode‐Less Batteries with Lithiophilic Seeds in Liquid and Solid‐State Electrolytes · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies

• “Water-in-salt” electrolyte enables high-voltage aqueous lithium-ion chemistries · Science · 2015 · 3,657 citations
• Battery materials for ultrafast charging and discharging · Nature · 2009 · 3,354 citations
• Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries · Nature · 1998 · 3,000 citations
• Electrolyte design for Li-ion batteries under extreme operating conditions · Nature · 2023 · 956 citations
• Self-assembled monolayers direct a LiF-rich interphase toward long-life lithium metal batteries · Science · 2022 · 946 citations
• Rational solvent molecule tuning for high-performance lithium metal battery electrolytes · Nature Energy · 2022 · 919 citations
• Lithium Batteries and the Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI)—Progress and Outlook · Advanced Energy Materials · 2023 · 799 citations
• High areal capacity, long cycle life 4 V ceramic all-solid-state Li-ion batteries enabled by chloride solid electrolytes · Nature Energy · 2022 · 619 citations
• Lithiated metallic molybdenum disulfide nanosheets for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries · Nature Energy · 2023 · 568 citations
• A dielectric electrolyte composite with high lithium-ion conductivity for high-voltage solid-state lithium metal batteries · Nature Nanotechnology · 2023 · 564 citations

Most recent work

• Spinel zinc-cobalt oxide porous nanorod combined with reduced graphene oxide as an efficient cathode material for lithium-sulfur batteries · Journal of Energy Storage · 2026
• In situ anchoring 2D hexagonal Zn-MOF on MXene toward robust anode-less 5 V–class Li metal batteries · Science Advances · 2026
• Spatially anion-confined electrolyte enables high-rate and durable anode-free sodium batteries · Science Advances · 2026
• Manipulating metal growth in hollow ionic-electronic conductor for anode-free lithium metal batteries · Science Advances · 2026
• Single‐Atomic Fe‐S 3 ‐Mo Sites Triggered Fast Redox Conversion in Li‐S Batteries · Advanced Energy Materials · 2026
• Breaking the boundaries of Li–S batteries with high-entropy engineered multifunctional materials · Energy & Environmental Science · 2026
• Discontinuous coordination boosting ion transport in solid polymer electrolytes · Energy & Environmental Science · 2026
• Asymmetric cobalt sites induced low-spin state for enhanced redox kinetics in lithium–sulfur batteries · eScience · 2026
• Strong and brittle lithium dendrites · Science · 2026
• Ionic Liquids Electrolytes for High Performance Sodium Batteries—Chemistry, Composition, and Interfaces · Advanced Energy Materials · 2026

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