Three-dimensional foam-type current collectors for rechargeable batteries: A short review

Energy storage systems as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become an essential part of our lives, powering on-the-go technologies we use every day. Until recently, immense attention was paid to designing and synthesizing advanced active materials for LIBs to enhance the battery characteristics. However, not the least crucial part of the battery, the current collector, was left unattended for a long time. Therefore, it is not surprising that the batteries reached their limits in power and energy densities, leaving the battery progress equal to an almost flat line. The only way to go ahead with the battery technology would be to design new architectures or to investigate new materials. Changing the battery current collector from planar to three-dimensional (3D) would offer dimensionality to the electrodes meaning short diffusion length for Li-ions, which will boost power density, more active material, and mechanical stability. Herein, in this review, various 3D architecture current collectors will be summarized, and recent advances in synthesis routes will be discussed to point out the importance of 3D structures. In addition, the correlation between the electrochemical performances of batteries and current collector architecture will be reviewed. More than 50 research publications related to the synthesis and performance of different 3D current collectors were reviewed and compared. The review results suggest that despite the outstanding performance, currently used technologies to obtain 3D current collectors make them unacceptable in the commercial sphere, and cheaper, faster and simple synthesis routes are desired to be explored.