A high-purity AgO cathode active material for high-performance aqueous AgO–Al batteries

The aqueous divalent silver oxide (AgO)-aluminum (Al) batteries have garnered international attention due to the advantages of high safety, high specific energy, and environmental friendliness. However, the low purity of the AgO used as the cathode material shortens the battery's storage life and causes two voltage plateaus during discharge. Herein, we employ a quick and efficient approach to make AgO for aqueous AgO–Al batteries' cathode active material. The outcomes exhibit the successful production of high purity AgO with good thermal stability. The prepared AgO cathode additionally displays an excellent specific capacity of 394.7 mAh g −1 , and the plateau of the discharge profile is closed to 1.7 V at the current density of 500 mA cm −2 , taking advantage of the good electronic conductivity and charge transfer kinetics. A maximum output power density of 1260.54 mW cm −2 at 900 mA cm −2 is also possible. Furthermore, the electrochemical mechanism of the AgO electrode is further uncovered by Ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies. Thus, this research presents a viable possibility for the fabrication of aqueous AgO–Al batteries by demonstrating the use of high purity AgO as a cathode active material. • High-purity AgO powders were synthesized by a chemical liquid co-precipitation method. • AgO cathode delivered an excellent rate capability and showed high specific capacity. • Mechanistic study of the electrochemical mechanism of the AgO electrode.