The rechargeable aluminum-ion battery

Abstract

We report a novel aluminium-ion rechargeable battery comprised of an electrolyte containing AlCl 3 in the ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, and a V 2 O 5 nano-wire cathode against an aluminium metal anode. The battery delivered a discharge capacity of 305 mAh g À1 in the first cycle and 273 mAh g À1 after 20 cycles, with very stable electrochemical behaviour.Since the early 1990s, lithium ion batteries based on a carbonaceous material such as graphite as the anode, a lithiated metal oxide (LiMO, e.g. LiCoO 2 ) cathode, and an aprotic liquid electrolyte have been the subjects of intense scientific and commercial interest for portable electronics applications. In recent years, the demand for secondary/rechargeable batteries with higher operating voltages, improved cycling stability, higher power densities, enhanced safety, and lower initial and life cycle costs has increased to meet new needs for smaller, lighter, more powerful electronic devices. Growing interest in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) designed to simultaneously reduce dependence on fossil fuel-derived energy and to lower the carbon footprint of humans compounds the current need for advanced, cost-effective electrical energy storage technologies. 1Due to their high energy density and low self-discharge rate, Li-ion batteries are considered the most promising technology for meeting these demands for the foreseeable future. 2-4Aluminium is the most abundant metal and the third most abundant element in the earth's crust. An aluminium-based redox couple, which involves three electron transfers during the electrochemical charge/discharge reactions, provides competitive storage capacity relative to the single-electron Li-ion battery.5-7 Additionally, because of its lower reactivity and easier handling, such an aluminium-ion (Al-ion) battery might offer significant cost savings and safety improvements over the Li-ion battery platform. Aluminium has consequently long attracted attention as an anode in the Al-air battery because of its high theoretical Ampere-hour capacity and overall specific energy. [8][9][10][11] Although these values are reduced in a practical battery because of the inability to operate aluminium and the air cathode at their thermodynamic potentials, and because water is consumed in the discharge reaction, the practical energy density still exceeds that of most commercially available rechargeable battery systems. 12 The inherent hydrogen generation of the aluminium anode in aqueous electrolytes introduces additional limitations, which have been met by designing the batteries as reserve systems with the electrolyte added just before use, or as mechanically rechargeable batteries with the aluminium anode replaced after each discharge. Even with these adjustments, reliable electrically rechargeable aluminium/air batteries are considered unfeasible using aqueous electrolytes, due to the high corrosion and hydrogen evolution of aluminium in the electrolyte, which leads to a sharp red...

Preparation and characterization of a rechargeable battery based on poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and aluminum in ionic liquids

“…In contrast to the use of bulky chloroaluminate anions as dopant described in the previous section [14,18,19], this work uses chloride ions as the dopant species for the conductive polymer that has been previously electro-polymerized in an aqueous solution. Chloride anions as dopant are preferred because they are smaller and more mobile than bulky chloroaluminate ions [20].…”

“…Rechargeable batteries based on the reversible deposition and dissolution of aluminum in a Lewis acidic chloroaluminate ionic liquid have been reported [14,18,19]. Charge storage materials like three-dimensional graphitic foams [18], vanadium pentoxide nano-wires [19], and electro-polymerized polypyrrole and polythiophene [14] in ionic liquid have been used as positive electrodes.…”

“…Charge storage materials like three-dimensional graphitic foams [18], vanadium pentoxide nano-wires [19], and electro-polymerized polypyrrole and polythiophene [14] in ionic liquid have been used as positive electrodes. The storage mechanism of these materials consists on the reversible intercalation of chloroaluminate ion species in the porous three-dimensional structures of the graphitic foam [18] and nano-wires [19], whereas conductive polymers [14] store anions to compensate the positive charges in the oxidized polymer backbone. These battery systems showed high reversibility as well as stable electrochemical behavior of the charge storage materials (graphitic foams, nano-wires, and conductive polymers) as positive electrodes with high coulombic efficiencies approaching 100%.…”

“…These battery systems showed high reversibility as well as stable electrochemical behavior of the charge storage materials (graphitic foams, nano-wires, and conductive polymers) as positive electrodes with high coulombic efficiencies approaching 100%. Cell voltages between 0.55 V [19] and 2 V [18] were reached with a wide electrochemical stability window [20], allowing the reversible redox reaction of aluminum (0 V vs Al/Al(III) [21]). The delivered specific discharge capacities are 70 Ah kg −1 (graphitic foam) [18], 273-305 Ah kg −1 (vanadium pentoxide nano-wires) [19], and 30-100 Ah kg −1 (conductive polymers) [14].…”

“…Cell voltages between 0.55 V [19] and 2 V [18] were reached with a wide electrochemical stability window [20], allowing the reversible redox reaction of aluminum (0 V vs Al/Al(III) [21]). The delivered specific discharge capacities are 70 Ah kg −1 (graphitic foam) [18], 273-305 Ah kg −1 (vanadium pentoxide nano-wires) [19], and 30-100 Ah kg −1 (conductive polymers) [14]. The reported specific capacities compete with those observed during the performance of positive active materials for lithiumion batteries (50-300 Ah kg −1 [6]).…”