Copper and aluminum are commonly used as current collectors in batteries due to their low cost, high electrical conductivity, and ease of processing. While metals such as silver, gold, and platinum also have excellent electrical conductivity and could potentially be used as current collectors, their high cost and limited availability make them less practical for large-scale battery production. Additionally, the properties of the current collector, such as the ability to alloy with or dissolve into the active material, can have a significant impact on the performance and stability of the battery. Copper and aluminum are commonly chosen because they are compatible with a wide range of active materials and have been extensively studied and optimized for battery applications.

There could be several reasons:

The cost of the battery would be greatly increased if silver, gold, or platinum were used as current collectors. Cost is a key consideration in the use of lithium-ion batteries in consumer devices and electric cars. With time, these metals may corrode, resulting in a decline in battery performance. The highly corrosive environment that lithium-ion batteries work in can eventually lead the metal current collector to corrode over time. Due to their mechanical characteristics, metals like silver, gold, and platinum are not the best materials to utilize as current collectors. They are more difficult to mold into the required shape for use as current collectors because they are less ductile and malleable than other metals like copper or aluminum.

While metals such as Ag, Au, or Pt are excellent electrical conductors, they are not commonly used as current collectors in lithium-ion batteries due to their high cost and reactivity with the electrolyte. Instead, copper, aluminium, and carbon are commonly used as current collectors in lithium-ion batteries due to their lower cost, good electrical conductivity, and compatibility with the electrolyte.