Recent Advances in Liquid Metals for Rechargeable Batteries

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 34; no. 31
• Main Authors: Ponnuru, Hanisha, Marriam, Ifra, Rambukwella, Imesha, Zheng, Jun‐Chao, Yan, Cheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-08-2024
• Subjects: Batteries; Biomedical engineering; Electrical resistivity; Electrochemical analysis; Energy storage; Formability; Gallium; Liquid metals; Literature reviews; Lithium; lithium‐ion batteries; lithium‐metal batteries; lithium–sulfur batteries; Performance degradation; Rechargeable batteries; Thermal conductivity
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202309706

Liquid metals (LMs) with their unique properties are considered for a range of applications such as energy storage, catalysis, electronics, and biomedical engineering. Recently, the introduction of LMs into rechargeable batteries has not only proven to improve overall performance but also overcome commonly known challenges like low energy density, material degradation, interface failure, and poor system integrity. Specifically, room‐temperature LMs such as gallium (Ga), Ga‐based alloys (GBAs), and metallic mercury (Hg) are promising candidates in rechargeable batteries due to their low viscosity, high electrical and thermal conductivity, excellent deformability, superior electrochemical properties, and self‐healing capability. Herein, a review of recent advances in LMs for rechargeable batteries, starting with a brief introduction to LMs fundamentals and their properties is presented. Then, an extensive literature review is carried out to summarize the LMs’ advances in addressing existing challenges of lithium‐ion, lithium‐metal, lithium–sulfur, and other rechargeable batteries. The current state of the art and future perspective are also put forward. It is believed that highlighting potential developments pertaining to LMs can fascinate researchers in exploring them for future rechargeable batteries.
This review article presents the role of liquid metal in rechargeable batteries, beginning with introduction and focusing on battery‐specific liquid metal properties. The recent advancements of lithium batteries featuring liquid metals are categorized into three subtopics followed by recent advances in other rechargeable batteries. This review concludes by providing future research directions.