Metal-air batteries are considered the research, development, and application direction of electrochemical devices in the future because of their high theoretical energy density. Among them, lithium-carbon dioxide (Li-CO2) batteries can capture, fix, and transform the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide while storing energy efficiently, which is an effective technique to achieve "carbon neutrality". However, the current research on this battery system is still in the initial stage, the selection of key materials such as electrodes and electrolytes still need to be optimized, and the actual reaction path needs to be studied. Carbon tube-based composites have been widely used in this energy storage system due to their excellent electrical conductivity and ability to construct unique spatial structures containing various catalyst loads. In this review, the basic principle of Li-CO2 batteries and the research progress of carbon tube-based composite cathode materials were introduced, the preparation and evaluation strategies together with the existing problems were described, and the future development direction of carbon tube-based materials in Li-CO2 batteries was proposed.
Keywords: Li–CO2 battery; carbon neutrality; carbon tube-based cathode; performance improvement; reaction mechanism.