Nanoporous Battery Anodes of p-Block Elements by Dealloying

High-capacity anode materials are desirable for developing next-generation energy-dense batteries beyond the current state of the art. Intercalation anode materials such as graphitic and hard carbons, used in Li-ion and Na-ion batteries, respectively, exhibit a relatively low specific capacity. Additionally, the US Geological Survey lists both Li and graphite as critical minerals. In contrast to intercalation anodes, alloy anodes are Earth-abundant and can deliver much higher capacities, but they experience multiple phase transformations accompanied by significant volume changes during charge storage, which lead to material pulverization, thus resulting in loss of mechanical and electrical contact within the electrode materials and subsequent rapid capacity fading. Using alloy anodes with nanoporous morphology can mitigate these issues to a certain extent. In this comprehensive review, we provide an in-depth look at the fabrication of various nanoporous materials from p-block elements by dealloying for use as alloy anodes and their performance when used in Li + , Na + , and Mg 2+ batteries.