A high performance dual electrolyte aluminium-air cell

Abstract

Energy storage capacity has been a major limiting factor in pursuit of increasing functionality and mobility for portable devices. To increase capacity limits, novel battery designs with multi-electron redox couples and increased voltages have been listed as a priority research direction by US Department of Energy. This study leverages the benefits of microfluidics technology to develop a novel type of mixed-pH media aluminium-air cell, which incorporates the advantages of aluminium's trivalence and mixed-pH thermodynamics. Experimentally, an open circuit potential of 2.2 V and a maximum power density of 176 mW/cm2 are measured from the new cell, which are respectively 37.5% and 104.6% higher compared to a conventional alkaline aluminium-air cell.