Impact of aluminum alloy grade as anode on electrochemical performance for Al-Air cell in alkaline electrolyte

We report the electrochemical performance of aluminum-air (Al-Air) cells for three commercially available aluminum alloys, that is, Al 1200, Al 8011, and Al 6061 together with the pure aluminum as anode. The contact angle and Tafel analysis are used to understand the surface adherence and corrosion characteristics. The respective Al-Air coin cells are fabricated with 1.54 cm2 active electrode area and discharge characteristics are evaluated at different current densities that is, 0.65, 1.3, and 2.6 mA cm-2. The specific capacity, power density, and energy density are calculated, and observed that Al 1200 is less wettable and less corrosive with better discharge performance along with higher specific capacity and energy density with respect to other Al grade anodes including pure aluminum. A detailed electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and post-mortem analysis of the anodes are also investigated to verify the corrosion at various Al anode materials. The potential of the fabricated battery is shown by glowing an LED light using the optimal Al-Air cell. Thus, the present work demonstrates that Al 1200 can be used as suitable anode material for efficient Al-Air electrochemical cells. image