In this review, we discuss the most recent developments in the field of green binders for batteries and supercapacitors and explain how they could decrease cost and environmental impact, and yet improve the performance of electrochemical energy devices. The different classes of green binders reported to date in the literature are firstly classified according to their processability (the solvent required for electrode manufacturing), chemical composition (F-free), and natural availability (synthetic or bio-derived). The benefits originating from their employment are analysed for different devices. The most popular lithium-ion batteries are thoroughly discussed both from the anode and the cathode side. While high capacity Si-based anodes benefit from enhanced cyclability due to the interaction between the active particles’ surface and the functional groups of, e.g., polysaccharides such as carboxymethyl cellulose and alginate, the transition to water-processable cathodes is certainly more challenging. In particular, strategies to suppress the aluminium corrosion affecting most lithiated transition metal oxides are discussed. Despite the much more limited literature available, the role of the binder is increasingly recognized in the emerging field of lithium–sulphur and sodium-ion batteries, and electrochemical double layer capacitors and, therefore, here discussed as well.

CaV ₆ O ₁₆ ·3H ₂ O sub-microfibers were synthesized and investigated as highly reversible cathodes for aqueous Zn storage.

The sequence of initial cycles necessary for the build‐up of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the anode surface of Li‐ion batteries (usually called formation) is a cost‐ and time‐consuming process, thus requiring further optimization. Herein, three different protocols are compared to explore possibilities to reduce the formation time of the cells without negatively affecting the electrochemical performance. XPS and HRTEM analyses are used to identify the main characteristics of the as formed SEIs. Electrochemical tests are conducted on full lithium‐ion cells using state‐of‐the‐art graphite and LiFePO₄ electrodes. The time‐saving dual‐current protocol results in excellent cycling performance, and in a LiF‐rich SEI. Interestingly, the use of moderately high temperature (40 °C) does not strongly affect the SEI composition as evidenced by XPS analysis. On the other hand, the formation rate determines the degree of graphite surface amorphization, visualized by HRTEM.

Low-cost and environmentally-friendly materials are investigated as carbon-coating precursors to modify the surface of commercial graphite for Li-ion battery anodes. The coating procedure and final carbon content are tuned to study the influence of the precursors on the electrochemical performance of graphite. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis are used to characterize the carbon coating content and the surface area, respectively, whereas X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy allow tracking of the graphite’s structural changes and surface amorphization. In general, the coating reduces the first cycle coulombic efficiency by 3%–10% compared to pristine graphite due to the increase of the surface area available for the continuous electrolyte decomposition. However, the use of citric acid as a carbon source (5 wt %) improves the rate capability of graphite, resulting in the specific delithiation capacity at 3C of 228 mAh g⁻¹ vs. 211 mAh g⁻¹ for the uncoated graphite. The attempt to reduce the coating amount from 5 wt % to 2 wt % results in a lower rate capability, but the first cycle coulombic efficiency is similar to that of pristine graphite.