Insights on polymeric materials for the optimization of high-capacity anodes

With the ever-growing demand for high energy density rechargeable batteries, it imposes urgent requirements for developing high-capacity anodes such as Li metal, Si, and Zn metal. Nevertheless, the anodes have great challenges: uncontrolled Li dendrite growth for Li metal, huge volume change for Si, and Zn dendrite growth and side reactions for Zn metal. Functional polymers have been shown to achieve outstanding effects on optimizing these anodes, yet the explorations with limited knowledge of the working mechanism and design basis of the polymers. Moreover, the modification strategies to optimize these anodes can refer to each other to a certain extent but a comprehensive summary has not been provided. Accordingly, to achieve a clear understanding of how polymers work for the optimization of Li metal, Si, or Zn metal, thereby to design the proper polymers driving their practical application, the review comprehensively discusses and summaries the modification strategies, mechanisms, and progress of functional-polymers-modified Li metal, Si, or Zn metal. Then, the challenges and corresponding designed approaches of the functional polymers working in the anodes’ optimization are given for the future development directions of the high energy density batteries.