The role of microstructural evolution in improving energy conversion of Al-based anodes for metal-air batteries

The role of microstructural evolution in improving the energy conversion of the pure Al and Al-Sb anodes has been investigated in detail though microstructural characterization, electrochemical analysis and discharge evaluation. The appearance of subgrain structure with high density of dislocation greatly improves the electrochemical activity, discharge performance and corrosion resistance of the as-rolled pure Al. The micro-nano AlSb precipitates play a key role in energy conversion of Al-Sb anode with enhanced electrochemical activity and uniform consumption of grain boundaries. While the rolling process can make significant grain refinement via dynamic recrystallization for the Al-Sb anode with decreasing the number density of dislocations. Such Al-Sb anode can exhibit high discharge capacity and energy density of 2859 Ah.kg(-1) and 3547 Wh.kg(-1), respectively at 40 mA cm(-2), showing its great potential for use in metal-air batteries.