Development and evaluation of anode alloys for aluminum/air batteries: Final report

Experimental and theoretical studies are reported on the development of aluminum alloys for alkaline aluminumair batteries. This work begins by analyzing the thermodyanmics of aluminum in LiOH, NaOH, and KOH solutions as a function of concentration (0 to 7 molkg alkali) and temperature (25 to 100)degree)C). The thermodynamic data define the conditions under which precipitation of Al(OH)/sub 3/ may occur but, more importantly for this study, they yield equilibrium potentials for various charge transfer reactions, including aluminum dissolution, Al(OH)/sub 3/ and A100H formation, AlH/sub 3/ formation, oxygen reduction, and hydrogen evoltuion. These data are used in our mechanistic analyses of aluminum electrodissolution. The findings of this work form the basis of a working model for the activation of aluminum alloy fuels for alkaline aluminumair batteries, in which activation is attributed to the oxidative dissolution of a protective layer of metallic alloying elements (principally gallium) from the surface at a voltage of )approximately)1.5 V (HgHgO). This model is now being used to design and prepare new high energy density anodes for Alair batteris. 29 refs., 87 figs., 39 tabs