Improved discharge performance of equal-channel-angular-pressed AZ61-In alloys as anodes for seawater-activated batteries

Novel Mg alloy anodes with high efficiency have great potential in seawater batteries for marine explorations. This work investigated the effect of indium addition and equal-channel angular pressing on discharge performance and electrochemical properties of commercial AZ61 alloy via hydrogen evolution, weight-loss test, electrochemical and discharge measurements in 3.5 wt% NaCl. The results indicated that indium addition promoted the formation of second phases due to the segregation effect. The pressing process effectively refined the grains and contributed to the uniform grain distribution, which was beneficial to the discharge performance and corrosion resistance of the Mg anodes. The pressed AZ61-In exhibited improved discharge activity and anode utilization compared to as-cast AZ61 and AZ61-In alloys. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effect of indium addition and pressing process on the discharge performance and electrochemical properties of commercial AZ61 alloy, indicating that indium addition promoted the formation of second phases and pressing process refined the grains and contributed to the uniform grain distribution, leading to improved discharge activity and anode utilization in pressed AZ61-In alloy.