Spray-formed commercial aluminum alloy anodes with suppressed self-corrosion for Al-Air batteries

Commercial 7050 Al alloys produced by spray forming technique and subsequent heat treatment have been investigated as anodes for Al-air batteries with greatly suppressed self-corrosion. The microstructures of the prepared Al alloy anode have been characterized and compared with those of the cast 7050 Al alloy. The spray formed Al anode possesses finer grains and lower volume fraction and discontinuous distribution of the second phases, leading to a smaller self-corrosion rate. After deformation and heat treatment, the spray formed Al alloy shows a further reduced volume fraction of the second phase and a high fraction of low angle grain boundaries. Therefore, the Al-air battery with the prepared Al anode displays a large specific capacity and a high working voltage. This study demonstrates that commercial Al alloys are likely to be used as anodes for Al-air batteries by the combination of spray forming and proper heat treatment. • Al anodes are prepared by spray forming commercial Al alloys for Al-air batteries. • Spray forming process can eliminate segregation and refine grain size. • The Al-air battery with spray-formed anode displays enhanced discharge performance. • Spray forming can be used to prepare high performance Al anodes at a large scale.