Room-temperature liquid metals (LMs) have emerged as distinctive functional materials for electrochemical energy storage, owing to their metallic conductivity, fluidic deformability, self-healing capability, and adaptive electrochemical behavior. Local electric-field regulation, enhanced ion transport, volume-change accommodation, and dendrite suppression are enabled by these intrinsic properties, thereby offering opportunities to overcome interfacial instability and limited cycling durability in conventional systems. In this review, recent advances in LM-enabled energy storage are summarized from the perspectives of physicochemical properties, micro-/macroscopic structural regulations, and performance-oriented applications. To clarify their roles in electrochemical stabilization, the fundamental properties, alloy design, surface modification, and composite construction of LMs are discussed, while emerging structural engineering strategies, including porous structures, patterning, and 3D printing, are briefly introduced to tailor LM architectures and functionalities. Particular emphasis is placed on multiphysics coupling modeling, density functional theory (DFT), and molecular dynamics simulations, which provide mechanistic insights into the evolution of the electric field, ion migration, interfacial reaction, alloying behavior, stress redistribution, and dendrite suppression. Representative applications in electrodes, electrolytes, and interfacial engineering are surveyed. Finally, challenges and potential solutions in chemical stability, structural controllability, interfacial compatibility, and scalable device integration are discussed.
This study delves into enhancing the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by optimizing the surface morphologies and optoelectronic properties of the electron transport layer (ETL) using tungsten (W) doping in zinc oxide (ZnO). Through a unique green synthesis process and spin-coating technique, W-doped ZnO films were prepared, exhibiting improved electrical conductivity and reduced interface defects between the ETL and perovskite layers, thus facilitating efficient electron transfer at the interface. High-quality PSCs with superior ETL demonstrated a substantial 30% increase in power conversion efficiency (PCE) compared to those employing pristine ZnO ETL. These solar cells retained over 70% of their initial PCE after 4000 h of moisture exposure, surpassing reference PSCs by 50% PCE over this period. Advanced numerical multiphysics solvers, employing finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and finite element method (FEM) techniques, were utilized to elucidate the underlying optoelectrical characteristics of the PSCs, with simulated results corroborating experimental findings. The study concludes with a thorough discussion on charge transport and recombination mechanisms, providing insights into the enhanced performance and stability achieved through W-doped ZnO ETL optimization.