Effect of Mg Content on Discharge Performance of Al-air Battery Anode

doi:10.11901/1005.3093.2025.085

Chinese Journal of Materials Research

2026, Vol. 40

Issue (2): 127-135 DOI: 10.11901/1005.3093.2025.085

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Effect of Mg Content on Discharge Performance of Al-air Battery Anode

MENG Acong¹, SUN Yaoning¹(

), WU Pu¹, WEI Ning¹, Kashif Naseem²

^1.School of Mechanical Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
^2.School of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hunan University of Humanities Science and Technology, Loudi 417000, China

Cite this article:

MENG Acong, SUN Yaoning, WU Pu, WEI Ning, Kashif Naseem. Effect of Mg Content on Discharge Performance of Al-air Battery Anode. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2026, 40(2): 127-135.

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Abstract

The effect of Mg amount on the performance of Al-Ga-In-Sn alloys as anode for Al-air battery was investigated. The Al-Ga-In-Sn-Mg alloy was prepared by adding trace amount of elements Ga, In, Sn, and Mg to alloy the high-purity Al (4N). The added trace elements mainly contribute to the formation of second phases or precipitates in the Al matrix. As anode material, the electrochemical properties of the Al-Ga-In-Sn-Mg alloy in 4.0 mol/L NaOH solution were assessed by polarization curve measurement, electrochemical impedance spectra, and hydrogen evolution measurement. The results confirm that Mg has the effect of refining the grains and increasing the quantity of the second phase in the Al-alloy. Meanwhile, the corrosion resistance of the Al-Ga-In-Sn-Mg alloy has been improved. The grain refinement enhances the uniformity of the anodic microstructure of the Al-alloy, and the grain boundaries can play a role in hindering corrosion. The Al-Ga-In-Sn-Mg alloy shows an optimal discharge performance when the Mg content is 0.1%. Its discharge voltage is 1.5113 V, its discharge capacity is 2153 mA/cm², and its anode efficiency is 72.26%.

Key words: metallic materials anode efficiency hydrogen precipitation corrosion second phase

Received: 25 February 2025

ZTFLH:

TQ152

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(52461022);Outstanding Doctoral Innovation Project of Xinjiang University(XJU2023BS052)

Corresponding Authors: SUN Yaoning, Tel: 15026000615, E-mail: synxju2024@163.com

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	MENG Acong
	SUN Yaoning
	WU Pu
	WEI Ning
	Kashif Naseem

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https://www.cjmr.org/EN/10.11901/1005.3093.2025.085 OR https://www.cjmr.org/EN/Y2026/V40/I2/127

Table 1 Anode composition design for aluminum-air batteries (mass fraction, %)

Fig.1 Schematic diagram of the battery discharge test system

Fig.2 XRD patterns of aluminum alloys (No.1-3)

Fig.3 OM (a1-a3) and SEM (b1-b3) images of samples 1-3 at 65,000 × magnification

Fig.4 Results of EDS analysis in Fig.3b2

Fig.5 Discharge curves of aluminum alloys at current densities of 10 (a), 30 (b) and 50 (c) mA/cm² and their anode efficiencies (d)

Table 2 Aluminum alloy anode discharge performance parameters

Fig.6 Hydrogen precipitation corrosion of aluminum alloy anode

Fig.7 Electrochemical profiles of aluminum alloys with anode (a) OCP and polarization curves (b)

Table 3 Electrochemical parameters of samples 1-3 (according to Fig.7)

Fig.8 Nyquist EIS plot for aluminum alloy anode

Table 4 Aluminum alloy anode electrochemical impedance spectral data

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