Binary metal oxide stannate (M₂SnO₄; M = Zn, Mn, Co, etc.) structures, with their high theoretical capacity, superior lithium storage mechanism and suitable operating voltage, as well as their dual suitability for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), are strong candidates for next-generation anode materials. However, the capacity deterioration caused by the severe volume expansion problem during the insertion/extraction of lithium or sodium ions during cycling of M₂SnO₄-based anode materials is difficult to avoid, which greatly affects their practical applications. Strategies often employed by researchers to address this problem include nanosizing the material size, designing suitable structures, doping with carbon materials and heteroatoms, metal–organic framework (MOF) derivation and constructing heterostructures. In this paper, the advantages and issues of M₂SnO₄-based materials are analyzed, and the strategies to solve the issues are discussed in order to promote the theoretical work and practical application of M₂SnO₄-based anode materials.

3,3′,4,4′-Biphenyltetracarboxylic acid molecules are pillared into Ti₃C₂ interlayers through a dehydration condensation reaction, achieving high Na⁺ diffusion kinetics and cycling stability.