Recent progress and perspective on lithium metal battery with nickel-rich layered oxide cathode

The pairing of lithium metal anode (LMA) with Ni-rich layered oxide cathodes for constructing lithium metal batteries (LMBs) to achieve energy density over 500 ​Wh ​kg⁻¹ receives significant attention from both industry and the scientific community. However, notorious problems are exposed in practical conditions, including lean electrolyte/capacity (E/C) ratio (< 3 ​g ​(Ah)⁻¹), high cathode mass loading (> 3 ​mAh ​cm⁻²), and low negative/positive (N/P) ratio (< 3), which creates a significant disparity between the current performance of LMBs and the desired requirements for commercial applications. In the review, we present a summary of the recent achievements made in understanding the mechanistic degradation of LMA, followed by practical strategies that are utilized to address these issues. We also consider the detrimental issues of Ni-rich layered oxide cathodes. Furthermore, we highlight current progresses in the field of practical LMBs in coin/pouch cells to stimulate further innovation. In the end, we propose the issues and prospects for development from the perspective of practical LMBs.