Developments, Novel Concepts, and Challenges of Current Collectors: From Conventional Lithium Batteries to All‐Solid‐State Batteries

Abstract With the innovation and evolution of lithium batteries, different active materials are loaded onto the current collectors, leading to remarkable changes in the components that directly interact with the current collectors. The surface/interface of current collectors in lithium batteries is gradually becoming one of the key factors to improve the overall performance. The thickness, material composition, surface morphology, and intrinsic properties of current collectors are crucial for understanding chemo‐mechanical changes during electrochemical reactions. Despite the widely acknowledged importance of highly efficient electron transportation and improved interfacial performance of current collectors as one of the determinants of exceptional lithium battery performance, insufficient attention has been given to exploring targeted design strategies for current collectors used in various lithium batteries. Particularly, as the development of solid‐state lithium batteries in full swing, there are limited studies focused on current collectors in all‐solid‐state lithium batteries (ASSLBs). This review introduces recent advancements in current collector technology, while highlighting both similarities and differences between negative current collectors applied in conventional lithium batteries and ASSLBs. Furthermore, we propose promising prospects for utilization of alloy materials as next‐generation negative current collectors.