Multilayers Alkali Metal Structures a Way to High Capacity and Fast Charging Carbon‐Based Metal‐Ion Battery. A Review

Recent experiments have revealed that lithium can form multilayer structures when intercalated in bilayer graphene [Nature 564 (2018) 234], challenging the long-held belief that alkali metals in layered materials are confined to single-layer configurations. This pioneering work initiates a new line of research related to the intercalation of alkali metals in carbon-based materials. The possibility of forming multilayer structures between bilayer graphene not only Li but also Na, K, Rb, Cs is shown. Multilayer Li structures are experimentally observed in atomic channels of modified bulk graphite and soft carbon. Multilayer Na structures in the mesochannels of carbon spheres lead to more stable dendrite-free Na cycling with high rate characteristics. It is possible to create fast-charging batteries based on hard carbon, in which the formation of multilayer Na structures in the pores allows to achieve high charging rates. In this review, the achievements in the formation and diffusion of multilayer structures of alkali metals in carbon-based anode materials for creating high-capacity and fast-charging ion batteries are discussed in detail.