Effect of Alloying Elements on the Electrochemical Characteristics of an Al Alloy Electrode for Al-air Batteries in 4 M NaOH solution

We examined the effects of alloying elements such as Fe, Ga, In, Sn, Mg, and Mn on the electrochemical characteristics of Al-based alloys for Al-air batteries by potentiodynamic polarization tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The corrosion potential of an Al anode was lowered by the addition of Ga and Sn, resulting in an increase in the cell voltage compared with a pure Al electrode. Fe was not beneficial to improve the electrochemical properties of the Al anode in that it caused a decrease in the cell voltage and reduced corrosion rate slightly. In, Mn, Sn, and Mg decreased the corrosion rate of the Al alloys, while Ga enhanced corrosion significantly and accelerated consumption of the anode.