Characterization of the Aluminium-Air Battery Utilizing a Polypropylene Separator with Corrosion Inhibition Ability

Battery energy storage systems are widely used in modern electronic devices and electric vehicles. Metal -air batteries are among the electrochemical energy storage systems that provide high energy density and ecofriendly solutions. Aluminium -air batteries hold a significant advantage with their high theoretical specific energy and have the potential to replace lithium -ion batteries in the future. In this study, the electrical performance and corrosion inhibition characteristics of a polypropylene -based single and dual electrolyte system for aluminium -air batteries were investigated experimentally. The study revealed that a polypropylene separator can reduce the corrosion of the aqueous aluminium -air battery system by up to 40 %, improving the anodic utilization efficiency to 93 %. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis was used to characterize the single and dual electrolyte aluminium -air battery and propose equivalent circuit models. Compared to 1 M KOH electrolyte in a single electrolyte system, the solution resistance of a dual electrolyte aluminium -air battery was reduced by about 40 % using a combination of 1 M of KOH electrolyte and 1 M of H 2 SO 4 . This reduction is attributed to the enhancement of the oxygen reduction reaction at the air cathode. A high KOH electrolyte concentration will increase the corrosion of the aluminium anode but can improve the battery ' s voltage. At 3 M KOH electrolyte, the plateau voltage is recorded at about 0.6 V while the discharge time reached 44 min when using aluminium alloy 6061 as the anode. The battery model developed in this work provides a fundamental basis for predicting the performance of aluminium -air battery packs.