A high-performance Al-air fuel cell using a mesh-encapsulated anode via Al–Zn energy transfer

Aluminum-air fuel cells attract more attention because of their high specific energy, low cost, and friendly environment. However, the problems of hydrogen evolution corrosion and low anode efficiency of aluminum-air fuel cells remain unresolved. Herein, we propose an aluminum-air fuel cell using a mesh-encapsulated anode, where the energy redistribution can be achieved and the discharge performance of the fuel cell can be highly improved. The results show that the highest inhibition efficiency is 73.930% when the aluminum plate is immersed in 6 M potassium hydroxide solution containing 100% zinc oxide. The highest anode efficiency is up to 61.740% when the fuel cell using a mesh-encapsulated anode is discharged at 20 mA/cm2, which is more than 2 times than that of no mesh, and the highest capacity can reach 1839.842 mAh/g, which is 101.623% higher than before optimization. Thus, our studies are very instructive for the large-scale application of aluminum-air fuel cells.