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Journal of Applied Electrochemistry

, Volume 49, Issue 9, pp 895–907 | Cite as

In-depth structural understanding of zinc oxide addition to alkaline electrolytes to protect aluminum against corrosion and gassing

  • Ehsan Faegh
  • Sujan Shrestha
  • Xinyi Zhao
  • William E. MustainEmail author
Research Article
First Online:
  • 168 Downloads
Part of the following topical collections:
  1. Batteries

Abstract

Several approaches have been tried to reduce Al corrosion in primary and secondary alkaline batteries. The most successful to date has been the addition of ZnO to the electrolyte, which results in the spontaneous deposition of a protective metallic Zn film on the Al surface. However, there is a limited understanding in the literature of the structure of this Zn film and how that structure (i) influences the protection of Al, and (ii) is influenced by the electrolyte composition. This work aims to develop a fundamental understanding of the protection mechanism against Al corrosion when zincate is added to KOH electrolytes. This was accomplished through morphological studies of the resulting Zn film using SEM, XRD, N2 adsorption, and measurements of H2 gas evolution as well as electrochemical characterization during discharge. It was found that adding saturated ZnO to KOH electrolytes provides the most protective Zn film with good adherence and high density, which can lower the Al corrosion rate by 2 orders of magnitude. Moreover, configurations with a capacity near the Al theoretical capacity were achieved.

Graphic abstract

Keywords

Alkaline battery Aluminum Corrosion Zinc Zinc oxide Capacity 
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Notes

Supplementary material

10800_2019_1330_MOESM1_ESM.docx (933 kb)
Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 928 kb)

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© Springer Nature B.V. 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of South CarolinaColumbiaUSA

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