Investigation of a novel aqueous aluminum/sulfur battery

Electrolytic and electrodic effects are investigated for a novel aluminum/sulfur battery based on concentrated polysulfide catholytes and an alkaline aluminum anode. The battery is expressed by aluminum oxidation and aqueous sulfur reduction for an overall battery discharge consisting of: 2Al+S42−+2OH−+4H2O → 2Al(OH)3+4HS−Ecell=1.79V The theoretical specific energy of the A1/S battery (based on potassium salts) is 647 Wh kg−1. A first generation aluminum/sulfur battery is demonstrated with an open-circuit voltage of 1.3 V, and a specific energy of 110 Wh kg−1.