Phosphorus, particularly the red phosphorus (RP) allotrope, has been extensively studied as an anode material in both lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and emerging sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). RP is featured with high theoretical capacity (2,596 mA h g⁻¹), suitable low redox potential (~0.7/0.4 V for LIBs/SIBs), abundant resources, and environmental friendliness. Despite its promises, the inherent poor electrical conductivity of RP (~10⁻¹⁴ S cm⁻¹) and significant volume changes during charge/discharge processes (>300%) compromise its cycling stability. In order to address these issues, various countermeasures have been proposed, focusing on the incorporation of materials that provide high conductivity and mechanical strength in composite-type anodes. In addition, the interfacial instability, oxidation, and safety concerns and the low mass ratio of active material in the electrode need to be addressed. Herein, this review summarizes the up-to-date development in RP materials, outlines the challenges, and presents corresponding countermeasures aimed to enhance the electrochemical performance. It covers aspects such as the structural design of RP, the choice of the additive materials and electrolytes, rational electrode construction, etc. The review also discusses the future prospects of RP for LIBs/SIBs and aims to provide a different perspective on the challenges that must be overcome to fully exploit the potential of RP and meet commercial application requirements.

All-solid-state lithium batteries are considered as the priority candidates for next-generation energy storage devices due to their better safety and higher energy density. As the key part of solid-state batteries, solid-state electrolytes have made certain research progress in recent years. Among the various types of solid-state electrolytes, sulfide electrolytes have received extensive attention because of their high room-temperature ionic conductivity and good moldability. However, sulfide-based solid-state batteries are still in the research stage. This situation is mainly due to the fact that the application of sulfide electrolytes still faces challenges in particular of interfacial issues, mainly including chemical and electrochemical instability, unstable interfacial reaction, and solid–solid physical contact between electrolyte and electrode. Here, this review provides a comprehensive summary of the existing interfacial issues in the fabrication of sulfide-based solid-state batteries. The in-depth mechanism of the interfacial issues and the current research progress of the main coping strategies are discussed in detail. Finally, we also present an outlook on the future development of sulfide-based solid-state batteries to guide the rational design of next-generation high-energy solid-state batteries.

The continuous development of the global energy structure transformation has put forward higher demands upon the development of batteries. The improvements of the energy density have become one of the important indicators and hot topic for novel secondary batteries. The energy density of existing lithium-ion battery has encountered a bottleneck due to the limitations of material and systems. Herein, this paper introduces the concept and development of multi-electron reaction materials over the past twenty years. Guided by the multi-electron reaction, light weight electrode and multi-ion effect, current development strategies and future trends of high-energy-density batteries are highlighted from the perspective of materials and structure system innovation. Typical cathode and anode materials with the multi-electron reactions are summarized from cation-redox to anion-redox, from intercalation-type to alloying-type, and from liquid systems to solid-state lithium batteries. The properties of the typical materials and their engineering prospects are comprehensively discussed, and additionally, the application potential and the main challenges currently encountered by solid-state batteries are also introduced. Finally, this paper gives a comprehensive outlook on the development of high-energy-density batteries.