Modification on water electrochemical environment for durable Al-Air Battery: Achieved by a Low-Cost sucrose additive

Low-cost and high-energy-density Al-air batteries have great application potential for energy conversion applications. However, their commercialization process has been challenged by severe self-corrosion of Al anode. Herein, a low-cost sucrose-modified electrolyte is utilized to inhibit the corrosion of Al anode for durable Al-air batteries. The sucrose molecules in KOH aqueous electrolyte can modulate the electrochemical environment of the water molecules in the electrolyte and decrease the number of active H2O molecules, thus suppressing the self-corrosion reaction of Al anode effectively. In the Al-air full battery, the specific capacity of Al anode is 2330 mAh g(-1) in 4 M KOH + 2 M sucrose electrolyte much higher than 356 mAh g(-1) of pristine 4 M KOH electrolyte. Moreover, in the intermittent discharge experiments that simulate the practical applications, the discharge time of 1 g Al was also extended from 6 h into 22 h, showing great practical application prospects. This work provides a detailed reference for improving the electrolyte of Al-air batteries from the direction of reducing water activity.

Automated summary

In this study, a low-cost sucrose-modified electrolyte is used to enhance the durability of aluminum-air batteries. The sucrose molecules inhibit the corrosion of the aluminum anode, leading to improved battery performance and practical application prospects.