Discharge Behavior of Water-Activated Magnesium Battery

Water-activated magnesium batteries possess several favorable attributes for energy storage and lighting sources. In this chapter, a portable-sized magnesium battery which consisted of MnO 2 cathodes and magnesium alloy anodes, being activated by drops of water, was investigated. The anode and cathode potential as well as their electrochemical impedance under a constant current load was monitored to evaluate the effect of water content, cell stacking, and discharging cycles. It was revealed that the discharge behavior was initially controlled by the depletion of water, followed by the cease of cathode reac - tion and the accumulation of Mg(OH) 2 at anode. The problem of low anode efficiency caused by stacking cells was analyzed, and its countermeasure was proposed. Several approaches to improve the battery performance were also presented.