Abstract
Background: To meet the rising demand for energy at the same time reducing environmental pollution, electrochemical energy synthesis through development of efficient high energetic battery is the need of the hour. The present investigation attempts to develop a new Al ion rechargeable battery by making cathode and anode more electro catalytic.
Methods: The electrode Al was replaced by a modified Al-Ni electrode and graphite by Nano graphite. The base electrolyte AlCl3 was modified by adding additives such as NaCl, InCl3 and HgCl2. The electrochemical characterization of the electrodes was carried out by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Chronoamperometry (CA) and potentiodynamic (Pd), while the constituents and morphology of the electrodes surface were examined by XRD and Electron microscopy.
Results: It was found that Nano graphite powder produced more current and energy compared to solid graphite electrode. Al coated with Ni performed better than pure Al electrode, giving higher current during electro oxidation. The effect of electrolyte additives, NaCl, InCl3, HgCl2 , made the polarization resistance lower and increased current produced from the cell. An electrolyte composition of an electrolyte composition of 0.075M AlCl3 + 2M NaCl+ 4M InCl3 +5M HgCl2 produced the highest current and energy. The effect of electrode modification by Al-Ni electrode or nano graphite electrode as well as additives in the electrolyte system had steadily increased the reversible cell current from a few μA/cm2 to over 300 mA/cm2.
Conclusion: The present investigation of developing a high energetic Al – Nano graphite rechargeable battery with modified electrolyte system was successful. The current produced from the cell for a 100 cm2 electrode surface area was over 20 amps.
Keywords: Al-Ni anode, nano graphite cathode, electrolyte additives, electrochemical characterization, scanning electron microscopy.
Graphical Abstract
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