The recent advances in constructing designed electrode in lithium metal batteries

Lithium metal battery, one of the most promising candidates for high-energy-density storage system, has attracted extensive interest due to its extremely high theoretical specific capacity, low gravimetric density and lowest negative redox potential. However, the formation of lithium dendrites, uncontrolled interfacial reactions, and huge volume change during the cycles of charging and discharging lower the Coulombic efficiency and cause harsh safety issues; they are the major hurdles towards the practical applications of lithium metal batteries. This review presents the recent advances in lithium metal battery and focuses on the functional hybrid electrodes, which are constructed to boost the electrochemical performance of metallic lithium and suppress the growth of lithium dendrites. Their general design rules, fabrication strategies, enhanced performances, and potential applications are summarized and analyzed. An outlook of the challenges and the potentials of lithium metal battery is also provided, which facilitates the future development of lithium metal batteries (C) 2017 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.