SUMMARY

Rechargeable batteries have been considered the most advanced energy storage systems for portable electronics and electric vehicles (EVs). However, the rapidly growing EV markets strongly urge the development of low-cost, lightweight, safe, and high-performance batteries. To improve the energy density of rechargeable batteries, metal anodes have been extensively studied due to their superior specific theoretical capacities (3860 mAh/g for Li, 1166 mAh/g for Na, and 820 mAh/g for Zn) compared to the commercial graphite anodes (372 mAh/g). However, several challenges still hinder the practical applications of rechargeable metal batteries, such as uncontrollable metal dendrite, unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), and infinite volume change during cycles. Here, we will focus on developing facile 3D nanostructured materials for Li, Na, and Zn metal anodes as a protective layer or metal-ion reservoir to effectively control the dendritic metal growth and enhance the reversibility of metal-ions during cycles. The 3D nanostructured materials will provide a powerful design principle for enabling next-generation high-energy rechargeable metal batteries.