The efficacy of ammonium ionic liquid to inhibit the parasitic process for Al-air battery

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to determine how effectively the ammonium ionic liquid (tris(2 hydroxyethyl) methyl ammonium methylsulfate [THMA]⁺[MS]⁻ works in minimizing parasitic reactions during Al-air battery discharge. The findings obtained indicate that the use of [THMA]⁺[MS]⁻ reduced the rate of hydrogen gas output during the immersion of Al substrate in the 4.0 M KOH solution. The effectiveness of the ammonium ionic liquid under comparable conditions is confirmed using the linear cathodic polarization method. The addition of [THMA]⁺[MS]⁻ to a pure 4.0 KOH solution improved the anodic efficiency and capacity density of the battery. Aside from being a novel study for [THMA]⁺[MS]⁻ as electrolyte battery additives, theoretical research were employed to analyze the mechanism and data interpretation. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of inhibitor-Al interactions performed with Forcite's Materials Studio module add to the data that ammonium ionic [THMA]⁺[MS]⁻ may suppress the parasite process. SEM, EDX, and X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS) tests for Al electrodes under different circumstances following battery discharge at 20 mA cm⁻² support the performance of [THMA]⁺[MS]⁻.