Review: Toward high-energy lithium-ion batteries—hybrid carbon architectures with synergistic doping and interface control

Abstract Hybrid carbon designs have arisen as an effective approach to mitigate the primary shortcomings of traditional anode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), specifically concerning capacity, rate capability, and long-term cycle stability. Although heteroatom doping may modify the electrical structure of carbon, it often fails to alleviate the mechanical deterioration and interfacial instability of high-capacity anodes like silicon, metal oxides, and phosphorus. Hybrid carbon frameworks mitigate mechanical degradation by transferring strain caused by lithiation across continuous conducting networks and void-containing structures, thereby preventing particle fragmentation and maintaining electrical connectivity. At the interface, heteroatom-doped carbon may influence surface polarity and local electron density, promoting a thinner and more inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) while restricting impedance escalation during cycling. This review succinctly evaluates advancements (2015–2025) in hybrid carbon architectures and examines the impact of combined doping and interfacial engineering on transport kinetics, mechanical integrity, and SEI chemistry in one-dimensional (1 D ), two-dimensional (2 D ), and three-dimensional (3 D ) configurations. To facilitate equitable cross-study comparison, the evaluation highlights reporting deficiencies and accentuates electrode-specific parameters, such as areal loading, initial coulombic efficiency, and volumetric energy density, in conjunction with traditional gravimetric performance. The paper delineates practical strategies for translation, emphasizing scalable coating methods and roll-to-roll compatible manufacturing, validation of high-loading electrodes, and data-driven evaluation of dopant-interface combinations to optimize SEI stability alongside volumetric energy density. Graphical Abstract