Polymer Chemistry for Improving Lithium Metal Anodes

Lithium metal anode based rechargeable batteries (LMBs) are regarded as a highly appealing alternatives to replace state-of-the-art lithium ion batteries (LIBs) for applications that demand higher energy density. Due to the highly reactive nature of metallic lithium and the related challenges with regard to dendrite issues at the anode, and electrolyte and cathode design, the industrial success of LMBs is yet to be safely achieved. Traditionally, in an LMB, the role of polymeric components is mostly limited to separators and cathode binders. With the advancement in polymer chemistry and its growing applications in materials science, it is now recognized that functional polymers can greatly improve the practical performance of an LMB. This paper discusses some representative studies, in order to demonstrate how various macromolecular approaches could be adopted to improve LMBs especially concerning the anode side, including electrolyte and artificial solid electrolyte interphase.