Dynamic Al–O Interactions Enable Uniform Al Deposition toward High Energy-Density and Practical Al Metal Batteries

Al batteries exhibit high crustal abundance and theoretical energy density, making them promising candidates as next-generation batteries. However, the poor Al plating/stripping at the Al anode severely limits their potential application. Herein, MXene-induced atomically dispersed MN4 sites (M = Co, Ni, Cu) containing axial O coordination (MN4O2) are demonstrated to show a synergistic effect of dynamic Al–O interactions to induce Al homogeneous deposition. As an example, the single-atomic Co modified Al anode exhibits negligible nucleation overpotential and a long plating lifespan even under unprecedented conditions (areal capacity of 10 mAh cm–2, current density of 40 mA cm–2). A practical 323 Wh kg–1 metal Al–S battery is well demonstrated under a 7 mg cm–2 high sulfur loading. These findings provide atomic-scale insights for the regulation of Al deposition and provide an avenue to stabilize the metal Al battery under practical high energy density conditions.