Electrochemical discharge performance of the Mg-Al-Pb-Ce-Y alloy as the anode for Mg-air batteries

The electrochemical discharge performance of the Mg-Al-Pb-Ce-Y alloy in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution is investigated by using electrochemical techniques and compared with that of pure magnesium, AZ31, and Mg-Al-Pb alloys. The results indicate that Mg-Al-Pb-Ce-Y shows enhanced corrosion resistance at open circuit potential, and exhibits better performance than other samples when used as the anodes for Mg-air batteries. The voltage of the battery with the Mg-Al-Pb-Ce-Y anode is higher than those using Mg-Li anodes. The anodic efficiency of Mg-Al-Pb-Ce-Y at 10 mA cm(-2) reaches 60.5 +/- 0.2%, which is obviously higher than those of commercial AZ and AM magnesium alloys. This enhancement in the performance of Mg-Al-Pb-Ce-Y is owing to its modified microstructure, which reduces the self corrosion and accelerates the spalling of oxidation products during battery discharge. Furthermore, the dissolution mechanism of Mg-Al-Pb-Ce-Y is also analyzed based on the electrochemical response and microstructure characterization.