Anode Materials for Rechargeable Aqueous Al-Ion Batteries: Progress and Prospects

Rechargeable aqueous Al-ion batteries (AIBs) have attracted more attention as potential energy storage systems due to their low cost, high safety, and environmental friendliness. As a crucial role in AIBs, efforts have been devoted to exploring suitable anode material over the past decade. Herein, the latest advances in using Al³⁺ intercalation and Al deposition anode materials are critically discussed, including current challenges, reaction mechanisms, and achievable electrochemical properties. This review aims to provide a summary of the strategies proposed to date to overcome the anode issues restricting the present rechargeable aqueous AIBs. Emphasis is placed on alleviating the passivation and corrosion problems of metallic Al anode for realizing rechargeable aqueous AIBs with high energy density. Finally, some suggestions are put forward for the guidance of future research directions on the optimization of anode materials in the expectation of promoting further development of rechargeable aqueous AIBs.