Enhancing aluminum foil performance in aqueous and organic electrolytes: dual-secure passivation with phthalocyanine as a corrosion inhibitor

Abstract

Using lightweight and inexpensive aluminum foil as a current collector in aqueous batteries is still very challenging due to its serious corrosion effects, which impede the practical applications of aqueous batteries. In this study, Pc is proposed as a corrosion inhibitor for aluminum current collectors. Interestingly, the corrosion current density (0.013 μA) in an aqueous electrolyte with the Pc additive is 23 times less than that (0.302 μA) without Pc. Furthermore, a Zn/LVPF cell was used to assess the corrosion impact on its battery performance in an aqueous electrolyte. Zn‖LVPF cells at a 0.2C rate with the Pc additive demonstrated a higher capacity retention of 75% and 50.12% after 100 and 200 cycles, respectively. The battery without Pc showed a substantially worse cycle life with only 27.57% capacity retention after 40 cycles. Furthermore, Pc prevents aluminum corrosion in an organic electrolyte-based battery. The Pc additive can protect aluminum from corrosion by a dual-secure passivation mechanism, including its physical adsorption on the Al surfaces and electrochemically formed AlPc-F passivation layer. This work opens a new avenue for developing corrosion inhibitors of aluminum not only in aqueous electrolytes but also for organic-based electrolytes.