Lithium-ion batteries have had a profound impact on our daily life, but inherent limitations make it difficult for Li-ion chemistries to meet the growing demands for portable electronics, electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage. Therefore, chemistries beyond Li-ion are currently being investigated and need to be made viable for commercial applications. The use of metallic Li is one of the most favoured choices for next-generation Li batteries, especially Li–S and Li–air systems. After falling into oblivion for several decades because of safety concerns, metallic Li is now ready for a revival, thanks to the development of investigative tools and nanotechnology-based solutions. In this Review, we first summarize the current understanding on Li anodes, then highlight the recent key progress in materials design and advanced characterization techniques, and finally discuss the opportunities and possible directions for future development of Li anodes in applications.

锂离子电池对我们的日常生活产生了深远的影响，但是固有的局限性使得锂离子化学材料难以满足对便携式电子产品，电动汽车和电网规模储能的不断增长的需求。因此，目前正在研究锂离子以外的化学物质，并需要使其在商业应用中可行。金属锂的使用是下一代锂电池（尤其是LiS和Li-air系统）最受青睐的选择之一。由于安全方面的考虑而被遗忘了几十年后，由于研究工具和基于纳米技术的解决方案的发展，金属锂现在已准备好复兴。在这篇评论中，我们首先总结了当前对锂阳极的理解，