Rechargeable magnesium batteries are promising alternatives to traditional lithium batteries because of the high abundance of Mg compounds in earth crust, their low toxicity, and possible favorable properties as electrodes’ material. However, Mg metal anodes face several challenges, notably the natively existence of an inactive oxide layer on their surfaces, which reduces their effectiveness. Additionally, interactions of Mg electrodes with electrolyte solutions’ components can lead to the formation of insulating surface layers, that can fully block them for ions transport. This review addresses these issues by focusing on surface treatments strategies to enhance electrochemical performance of Mg anodes. It highlights chemical and physical modification techniques to prevent oxidation and inactive-layers formation, as well as their practical implications for MIBs. We also examined the impact of Mg anodes’ surface engineering on their electrochemical reversibility and cycling efficiency. Finally, future research directions to improve the performance and commercial viability of magnesium anodes and advance development of high-capacity, safe, and cost-effective energy storage systems based on magnesium electrochemistry are discussed.

Aqueous batteries are an emerging next-generation technology for large-scale energy storage. Among various metal-ion systems, manganese-based batteries have attracted significant interest due to their superior theoretical energy density over zinc-based battery systems. This study demonstrates oxygen vacancy-engineered vanadium oxide (V₂O_4.85) as a high-performance cathode material for aqueous manganese metal batteries. The V₂O_4.85 cathode had a discharge capacity of 212.6 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹, retaining 89.5% capacity after 500 cycles. Oxygen vacancies enhanced ion diffusion and reduced migration barriers, facilitating both Mn²⁺ and H⁺ ion intercalation. Proton intercalation dominated charge storage, forming Mn(OH)₂ layers, whereas Mn²⁺ contributed to surface-limited reactions. Furthermore, manganese metal batteries had a significantly higher operating voltage than that of aqueous zinc battery systems. Despite challenges with hydrogen evolution reactions at the Mn metal anode, this study underscores the potential of manganese batteries for future energy storage systems.