Friction stir processing induced elctrochemical performance improvement of commercial Al for Al-air battery

• Published in: Electrochimica acta Vol. 354; p. 136635
• Main Authors: Zheng, Xiaobo, Zhang, Ting, Yang, Hejie, Zheng, Qiaoling, Gao, Yimin, Liu, Zhiwei, Wang, Wen, Wang, Kuaishe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 10.09.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Al-air battery; Anode effect; Commercial purity al; Corrosion potential; Corrosion resistance; Deformation effects; Discharge; Discharge performance; Electrical properties; Electrochemical analysis; Electrochemical properties; Electrode polarization; Flux density; Friction stir processing; Hydrogen evolution; Iron; Metal air batteries; Plastic deformation; Electrochemical properties; Discharge performance; Friction stir processing; Commercial purity al; Al-air battery
• ISSN: 0013-4686; 1873-3859
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2020.136635

Friction stir processing (FSP) is applied in the treatment of low cost commercial purity Al (CP-Al) containing iron impurity element with the aim of optimizing the electrochemical properties and discharge performance of CP-Al as the anode of Al-air battery. FSP induced severe plastic deformation effects not only significantly refines CP-Al grains which have an average size of 3 μm but also leads to the fragmentation and the reduction in the amount of Al-Fe phase. Due to the above reasons induced by FSP, the corrosion resistance of CP-Al is increased, which is proved by hydrogen evolution rate test, potentiodynamic polarization measurement and EIS test; on the other hand, more negative corrosion potential values of CP-Al are obtained, indicating both the electrochemical activity and corrosion resistance of CP-Al are enhanced simultaneously. FSP make the discharge performance of CP-Al anode more stable and the average values of discharge potential, energy density as well as utilization of CP-Al anode are significantly increase from 1.054V/1251 mWh g−1/39.8% to 1.116V/1674 mWh g−1/50.3% at 20 mA∙cm−2. Meanwhile, the power densities of two batteries with C-Al and FSP-Al anodes are 44.38 and 47.17 mW cm−2 at 50 mA cm−2, and the difference of which reached a maximum of 2.79 mW cm−2. The improvements in electrical properties and discharge performance of CP-Al anode can be attributed to the microstructural refinement and the decrease in self-corrosion of CP-Al induced by FSP.