Electrochemical behaviors and discharge performance of Mg-Sn binary alloys as anodes for Mg-air batteries

Abstract

In this work, the self-corrosion and discharge performance of the as-cast Mg- x Sn ( x = 1, 5, 9 wt%) anodes for primary Mg-air batteries were studied through microstructure characterization, electrochemical testing and discharge experiments. With the increase of Sn content, the volume fraction of the Mg _2 Sn phase increases, promoting dendrite refining. According to the electrochemical test, the Mg-1Sn anode shows a higher open circuit potential, resulting in a stronger electrochemical activity. The polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectra show the corrosion resistance order as Mg-1Sn > Mg-5Sn > Mg-9Sn. In the discharge measurement, the Mg-1Sn anode achieves the best average discharge voltage, anode efficiency, specific capacity, and energy density under all current densities tested. At 10 mA cm ^−2 , the energy density of Mg-1Sn is 1239.621 mWh g ^−1 , which is higher than the Mg-5Sn anode and Mg-9Sn anode, 37% and 25%, respectively. The optimal discharge performance of the Mg-1Sn anode is mainly attributed to the high electrochemical activity and the micron-sized Mg _2 Sn phase dispersed in the matrix, which facilitates more uniform dissolution.

Keywords

• Mg-air batteries
• Mg-Sn binary anodes
• discharge performance
• electrochemical behaviors