Non-aqueous aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs) are emerging as a viable post-lithium energy storage technology, leveraging the high theoretical capacity, safety, and elemental abundance of aluminum. Their practical implementation, however, is predominantly hindered by the limited electrochemical performance of cathode materials. This review provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of recent advances in cathode materials for non-aqueous AIBs. We first elucidate the fundamental aluminum storage mechanisms and then critically assess the progress across various material classes, including carbon-based architectures, transition metal chalcogenides and oxides, organic compounds, engineered heterojunctions, and metal–organic/covalent organic frameworks and their derivatives. The discussion focuses on the intricate structure-property relationships that govern key electrochemical metrics, such as capacity, cyclability, and rate performance. Finally, we highlight the persistent scientific and technical challenges within the field and propose strategic research directions for the rational design of next-generation high-performance cathodes. This work aims to offer critical insights and valuable guidance for the future development of practical non-aqueous AIB systems.
Gu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.