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ALUMINIUM BATTERIES

Halfway through

Nature Energy volume 4, pages 10–11 (2019)Cite this article

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Aluminium−graphite batteries can reversibly store AlCl4– ions at their cathodes, but the large consumption of electrolytes reduces their specific energy. Here a cathode based on redox-active triangular organic molecules is shown to be able to take up AlCl2+, offering hope towards complete Al-ion storage.

Our climate and energy problems call for a paradigm shift of energy resources from fossil fuels to renewable energies such as solar and wind. However, these renewable energies are intermittent and cannot be relied upon to match patterns of electricity demand. Storage of energy when the sun shines and the wind blows is therefore a key enabler for green energy technologies. Today’s energy storage technologies are either geologically limited, such as pumped storage hydropower and compressed air energy storage, or expensive, such as lithium-ion and high-temperature sodium−sulfur batteries. One potential solution to the site dependence and cost issues is rechargeable batteries built with vastly abundant materials and simple designs. Among the emerging low-cost batteries, rechargeable aluminium batteries are particularly appealing because aluminium is the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and, as an anode material, has one of the highest volumetric capacities and a reasonably low redox potential. The technology has drawn significant research interests since Hongjie Dai’s group demonstrated an ultrafast and highly stable aluminium−graphite battery1, but a rechargeable aluminium battery with competitive specific energy and cycling stability does not exist yet. Writing in Nature Energy, Jang Wook Choi, Fraser Stoddart and colleagues from the USA and South Korea now report an organic cathode material that could eventually lead to efficient storage of aluminium ions and practical rechargeable aluminium batteries2.

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Fig. 1: Charge storage mechanisms of aluminium batteries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Yanliang Liang & Yan Yao

  2. Texas Center for Superconductivity at The University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Yanliang Liang & Yan Yao

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  1. Yanliang Liang
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  2. Yan Yao
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Correspondence to Yan Yao.

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Liang, Y., Yao, Y. Halfway through. Nat Energy 4, 10–11 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-018-0300-3

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