Liquid‐State Cathode Enabling a High‐Voltage and Air‐Stable Fe‐Al Hybrid Battery

Abstract

AbstractAluminum (Al) is an ideal anode material in low‐cost battery system for energy storage, with high theoretical capacities. However, the sluggish Al3+‐involved kinetics challenges the selection of common cathode materials (Al3+ intercalation or conversion). Herein, a redox‐active Fe–Cl complex serves as the liquid‐state cathode to couple with a low‐cost Al anode, which synergizes the advantages of redox flow batteries and Al rechargeable batteries. The interplay of Fe‐Cl coordinated formula and electrochemical properties are revealed for the first time. It is found that [Fe2Cl7]− molecule has a high voltage versus Al anode (1.3 V), and the novel Fe‐Al hybrid battery fulfills a capacity of 1.6 mAh cm−2 (20 Ah L−1) record high in a coin cell among Al‐based batteries. Furthermore, the energy efficiency, which is a vital parameter to evaluate the energy cost of the energy storage technology, reaches 85% (superior to most Al‐based batteries) and an average of 70% over ≈900 h cycling. Particularly, the unique air‐stable character enables normal operation of the battery assembled in ambient air. This work establishes a new application scenario for Al anode toward low‐cost large‐scale energy storage.