Aluminum-air batteries make electricity by interacting with the air. They have one of the highest storage capacities we know. Yet they largely remain researchers’ dreams owing to high anode cost. And then there’s the added complication of aluminum-air battery corrosion holding back progress. Were it not for that, we might have electric cars with eight times lithium battery range.
Scientists at MIT Solve Aluminum-Air Battery Corrosion Enigma
Chemistry World advised significant progress towards resolving aluminum-air battery corrosion. However, there is a catch. Aluminum-air batteries are not rechargeable, but we can replenish them by replacing their corrosive electrodes.
This corrosion is at the heart of the problem keeping this remarkable technology ‘on the shelf’. This is because an aluminum-air battery on full charge, but standing idle loses 80% of its energy within a month. Compare that to lithium’s 5% self-discharge rate and the disadvantage is obvious. The reason is equally clear when we remember raw metal corrodes in the presence of air.
How to Make Your Own Aluminum-Air Battery
Sometimes the Obvious Stares Us in the Face
Brandon Hopkins and his research associates at MIT remembered how they oiled their work tools when they were young. This stopped corrosion in its tracks. This thought came to them after they reviewed corrosion on discharged aluminum-air battery electrodes.
“The remaining electrolyte clings like crust to the hydrophilic aluminum electrodes,” they told Chemistry World. This causes a layer of by-products and electrolyte solutes, they explained. Then we resolved the problem by pumping oil into the battery when it was standing idle.
“The oil pushes out the corrosive electrolyte from the surface of the aluminum electrode, which is what stores the energy in the battery.” Aluminum has a natural tendency to attract moisture in the air. Thus immersing it in oil is a natural way to prevent aluminum-air battery corrosion.
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Preview Image: Aluminum-Air Battery
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