Inhibition of Hydrogen Evolution by a Bifunctional Membrane between Anode and Electrolyte of Aluminum-Air Battery

• Published in: Membranes (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 407
• Main Authors: Zuo, Yuxin, Yu, Ying, Shi, Haoqin, Wang, Jiale, Zuo, Chuncheng, Dong, Xiaowei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 06-04-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Al2O3@PAN; Aluminum; Aluminum oxide; Al–air battery; Anodes; anti-corrosion; bifunctional membrane; Contact angle; Corrosion; Corrosion prevention; Corrosion rate; Corrosion resistance; Electrochemistry; Electrolytes; Evolution; Excess water; Hydrogen; hydrogen evolution reaction; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Hydrophobicity; Ions; Membranes; Metal air batteries; Metals; Nanoparticles; Specific capacity; China; Germany; anti-corrosion; Al2O3@PAN; Al–air battery; bifunctional membrane; hydrogen evolution reaction
• ISSN: 2077-0375; 2077-0375
• DOI: 10.3390/membranes12040407

The hydrogen evolution reaction of the anode is a severe barrier that limits the further commercial application of Al-air batteries. Therefore, this study introduces a bifunctional membrane for the inhibition of hydrogen evolution in Al-air batteries. The reference to Al
O
@PAN as "bifunctional" means that it has both hydrophobic and anti-corrosion functions. Al
O
can effectively inhibit the migration of hydroxide ions, and PAN is an excellent hydrophobic material. The bifunctional membrane is placed between the aluminum anode and the electrolyte, which can prevent the invasion of excess water and hydroxide ions, thereby inhibiting the hydrogen evolution corrosion of the anode. Electrochemical tests have confirmed that the corrosion inhibition rate of a bifunctional membrane containing 1.82 wt. % Al
O
@PAN is as high as 89.24%. The specific capacity of Al-air batteries containing this membrane can reach 1950 mAh/g, and the utilization rate of the aluminum anode has reached 61.2%, which is helpful in reducing the waste of aluminum resources. The results prove that the bifunctional membrane has excellent anti-corrosion properties. Bifunctional membranes can also be used to prevent the corrosion of metals in other fields.