An acetamidine-based chloroaluminate polyamide gel electrolyte assists durable rechargeable aluminum/graphite cells

Rechargeable aluminum-based electrochemical cells are a promising alternative to lithium-based electrochemical cells due to their high energy density and potential low cost. However, rechargeable aluminum electrochemical cells using ionic liquid electrolytes suffer from issues such as electrolyte leakage, corrosiveness, and sensitivity to moisture. These problems significantly reduce Coulombic efficiency and charge/discharge cycling stability. This work studies a credible AlCl 3 /acetamidinium chloride (Acet-Cl) ionic liquid electrolyte for rechargeable Al/graphite cells. To enable the cell's stable charge/discharge cycling, a polyamide-based gel polymer electrolyte (PAGPE) is introduced by mixing polyamide (PA, known as Nylon) and the AlCl 3 /Acet-Cl ionic liquid electrolyte. The Al/graphite cells show improved cycling stability with AlCl 3 /Acet-Cl PAGPE due to its superior resistance to moisture compared to ionic liquid electrolytes , making it suitable for harsh environments. This work gives encouraging results for assisting the development of rechargeable aluminum-based electrochemical cells . • Credible AlCl 3 /acetamidinium chloride (Acet-Cl) ionic liquid electrolytes show reasonable ionic conductivity. • The AlCl 3 /Acet-Cl ionic liquid electrolytes have a low economic cost. • The AlCl 3 /Acet-Cl polyamide gel electrolyte improves moisture sensitivity, electrolyte leakage, and corrosiveness. • The AlCl 3 /Acet-Cl polyamide gel electrolyte exhibits good Al redox reaction and long-term electrochemical stability. • Al/graphite cells using the AlCl 3 /Acet-Cl polyamide gel electrolyte significantly enhance charge/discharge cycling stability.