Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1611.09951

A High Efficiency Aluminum-Ion Battery Using an AlCl3-Urea Ionic Liquid Analogue Electrolyte

Michael Angell·Chun-Jern Pan·Youmin Rong·Chunze Yuan·Meng-Chang Lin·BingJoe Hwang·Hongjie Dai
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

In recent years, impressive advances in harvesting renewable energy have led to pressing demand for the complimentary energy storage technology. Here, a high coulombic efficiency (~ 99.7%) Al battery is developed using earth-abundant aluminum as the anode, graphite as the cathode, and a cheap ionic liquid analogue electrolyte made from a mixture of AlCl3 and urea in 1.3 : 1 molar ratio. The battery displays discharge voltage plateaus around 1.9 V and 1.5 V (average discharge = 1.73 V) and yielded a specific cathode capacity of ~73 mAh g-1 at a current density of 100 mA g-1 (~ 1.4 C). High coulombic efficiency over a range of charge-discharge rates and stability over ~150-200 cycles was easily demonstrated. In-situ Raman spectroscopy clearly showed chloroaluminate anion intercalation/deintercalation of graphite in the cathode side during charge/discharge and suggested the formation of a stage 2 graphite intercalation compound when fully charged. Raman spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance suggested the existence of AlCl4-, Al2Cl7- anions, and [AlCl2. (urea)n]+ cations in the urea/AlCl3 electrolyte when an excess of AlCl3 was present. Aluminum deposition therefore proceeded through two pathways, one involving Al2Cl7- anions and the other involving [AlCl2.(urea)n]+ cations. This battery is a promising prospect for a future high performance, low cost energy storage device.

Explore related subjects

physics.chem-ph

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Michael Angell, Chun-Jern Pan, Youmin Rong, Chunze Yuan, Meng-Chang Lin, BingJoe Hwang, Hongjie Dai. 2016-11-30. A High Efficiency Aluminum-Ion Battery Using an AlCl3-Urea Ionic Liquid Analogue Electrolyte. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619795114

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Intrinsic Matching Frustration in Fluctuating Finite Systems

We formulate intrinsic matching frustration (IMF), a fluctuation-induced, kinetics-independent reduction in the mean capacity permitted by a prescribed matching rule. For complementary one-to-one matching, the instantaneous capacity is set by the minority population, so fluctuations produce a nonzero mean deficit even when the two populations are balanced on average. At finite size, this deficit depends on the full distribution of the population difference and is determined by its variance alone only in the Gaussian limit. Compartmentalization hides matching capacity by preventing cancellation between local imbalances of opposite sign. Fusion releases this hidden capacity monotonically under coarse graining, producing a measurable recovery of product yield following local reaction to completion.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2026

Phonon chirality as an additive control of CISS: a symmetry-protected law

Chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) is usually associated with molecular handedness. The possible contribution of chiral phonons is less established. We study a helical tight-binding model in which local phonon angular momentum modulates spin-dependent nearest-neighbor hopping. Fewest-switches surface hopping calculations give the transmitted spin polarization $\mathrm{SP}=aC+b\mathrm{PH}$. Here $C$ is the molecular chirality and $\mathrm{PH}$ is the phonon chirality. A mirror symmetry reverses $C$, $\mathrm{PH}$, and $\mathrm{SP}$ simultaneously. This symmetry excludes both a chirality-independent offset and a $C\cdot\mathrm{PH}$ term. The phonon contribution can therefore enhance, cancel, or reverse the molecular CISS signal.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2026

A fast physics-based matrix model for the impedance of a PEM fuel cell: Incorporating functionally graded catalyst layer and channel impedances

We extend a recent physics-based matrix model for calculating PEM fuel cell impedance (doi:10.1149/2754-2734/ad6ce8) to cases of low air flow stoichiometry and functionally graded cathode catalyst layers (CCLs). We demonstrate that the matrix model produces accurate spectra and is almost three orders of magnitude faster than a model based on the standard boundary-value problem solver. The physics-based matrix model can compete with equivalent circuit models for fitting experimental EIS spectra, particularly those measured from cells with functionally graded CCL.

physics.chem-ph↗