Considerable research has been devoted to the development of cathode materials for Al-ion batteries, but challenges remain regarding the behavior of aluminum anodes. Inert oxide (Al2O3) film on Al surfaces presents a barrier to electrochemical activity. The structure of the oxide film needs to be weakened to facilitate ion transfer during electrochemical activity. This study addresses oxide film challenges by studying Al alloy anodes with different iron content. The results reveal that using an anode of 99% Al 1% Fe in a cell increases the cycling lifetime by 48%, compared to a 99.99% Al anode. The improvement observed with the 99% Al 1% Fe anode is attributed to its fractional surface area corrosion being about 12% larger than that of a 99.99% Al anode. This is coupled to precipitation of a higher number of Al3Fe particles, which are evenly scattered in the Al matrix of 99% Al 1% Fe. These Al3Fe particles constitute weak spots in the oxide film for the electrolyte to attack, and access to fresh Al. The addition of iron to an Al anode thus offers a cheap and easy route for targeting the oxide passivating film challenge in Al-ion batteries.
Keywords: 99% Al 1% Fe alloy anode; Al-ion battery; Al3Fe particle; corrosion; cycling performance; oxide film.