Effect of Aluminum Oxide on the Performance of Ionic Liquid-Based Aluminum–Air Battery

Author ORCID Identifier

Narayan Hosmane:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6421-7546

Kyu Cho:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9883-2013

Publication Title

Energies

E-ISSN

43932

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The aluminum-air (or oxygen) battery has received intense attention in the past because of its excellent benefits such as low cost and high energy density, but due to the challenging issues such as hydrogen evolution and inactive oxide film formation on the Al surface, it could not be fully applied. In this study, 1-Ethyl 3-Methyl Imidazolium Chloride ([EmIm]Cl) and aluminum chloride (AlCl3) are applied to resolve the aforementioned issues. Ex situ component-level and in situ cell-level open circuit voltage (OCV) tests combined with the physics-based model analyses were conducted to investigate the electrochemical reaction behaviors of the Al-air cell. Especially, the effect of aluminum oxide formation on the anode- and cathode-side reactions were analyzed in detail. The oxide film formed at the Al surface strongly was found to significantly impede the electrochemical reaction at the surface, and the film growth was controlled by decreasing the surface tension by aggressive anions. In the cathode side, the aluminum oxide precipitated in the porous cathode electrode was found to decrease the porous reaction area and block reactant access into the reaction sites. The effects of O2 solubility in the electrolyte, initial porosity and thickness of the porous electrode are compared in detailed, and optimal thickness is suggested.

Publication Date

4-1-2020

DOI

10.3390/en13082014

Keywords

Aluminum air battery, Aluminum electrode, Ionic liquid, Oxide film, Oxide precipitation, Porous electrode, Surface tension, Volume average

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

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