Ma et al. Energy Mater 2022;2:200027 DOI: 10.20517/energymater.2022.23 Energy Materials © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. www.energymaterj.com Open Access Review Insights into the electrochemical performance of metal fluoride cathodes for lithium batteries Delong Ma 1 , Ruili Zhang 1 , Xun Hu 1,* , Yang Chen 1 , Chenfa Xiao 1 , Fei He 1 , Shu Zhang 2 , Jianbing Chen 3 , Guangzhi Hu 4,* 1 School of Material Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, Shandong, China. 2 Joint International Research Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. 3 Research Academy of Non-metallic Mining Industry Development, Materials and Environmental Engineering College, Chizhou University, Chizhou 247000, Anhui, China. 4 School of Materials and Energy, Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, Yunnan, China. Correspondence to: Prof. Xun Hu, School of Material Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, No. 336 West Nanxinzhuang Road, Jinan 250022, Shandong, China. E-mial: Xun.Hu@outlook.com; Prof. Guangzhi Hu, School of Materials and Energy, Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, No. 2 North Cuihu Road, Wuhua District, Kunming 650091, Yunnan, China. E-mail: guangzhihu@ynu.edu.cn How to cite this article: Ma D, Zhang R, Hu X, Chen Y, Xiao C, He F, Zhang S, Chen J, Hu G. Insights into the electrochemical performance of metal fluoride cathodes for lithium batteries. Energy Mater 2022;2:200027. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/energymater.2022.23 Received: 1 May 2022 First Decision: 27 May 2022 Revised: 24 Jun 2022 Accepted: 15 Jul 2022 Published: 28 Jul 2022 Academic Editors: Yuping Wu, Keyu Xie Copy Editor: Tiantian Shi Production Editor: Tiantian Shi Abstract In recent years, energy storage and conversion have become key areas of research to address social and environmental issues, as well as practical applications, such as increasing the storage capacity of portable electronic storage devices. However, current commercial lithium-ion batteries suffer from low specific energy and high cost and toxicity. Conversion-type cathode materials are promising candidates for next-generation Li metal and Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Metal fluoride materials have shown tremendous chemical tailorability and exhibit excellent energy density in LIBs. Batteries based on such electrodes can compete with other envisaged alternatives, such as Li-air and Li-S systems. However, conversion reactions are typically multiphase redox reactions with mass transport phenomena and nucleation and growth processes of new phases along with interfacial reactions. Therefore, these reactions involve nonequilibrium reaction pathways and significant overpotentials during the charge-discharge process. In this review, we summarize the key challenges facing metal fluoride cathode materials and general strategies to overcome them in cells. Different synthesis methods of metal fluorides are also presented and discussed in the context of their application as cathode materials in Li and LIBs. Finally, the current challenges