Abstract
High energy and power density rechargeable batteries with low cost, long cycle life and high safety remain a great demand of portable electronics and grid storage systems. Recently, rechargeable aluminum batteries (RABs) have attracted much attention owing to its high volumetric capacity (8046 mAh cmMINUS SIGN 3), low cost and ultra-safety.
However, harsh reaction conditions and complicated processes are usually used in preparation of electrode materials, hindering the practical application. Herein, a commercial ordered mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) as a cathode for RABs is proposed, which shows a super-long life of>36,000 charge/discharge cycles with a high coulombic efficiency of>97% and excellent rate performance up to 3000 mA gMINUS SIGN 1.
Moreover, The Al/CMK-3 battery has a high energy density of ~45 Wh kgMINUS SIGN 1. Last, the structure changes and (de)intercalation of chloroaluminate anions into the mesopores of CMK-3 during the charge/discharge process were checked by exsitu scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman and X-ray photo spectroscopy (XPS).
Commercially availability and affordable cost of the cathode material make Al/CMK-3 battery more promising for wearable and portable appliances.