A novel aluminum dual-ion battery

The development of new rechargeable safe battery with high energy density and low cost is one of the most desirable goals for personal electronics and grid storage. Aluminum based rechargeable ion batteries offer the possibilities for safe, high energy density and low cost. Here, we developed a novel aluminum based high-rate capability dual-ion battery with an aluminum anode and a 3D graphene cathode. The battery operated through the electrochemical deposition and dissolution of aluminum at the anode, and intercalation/de-intercalation of ClO4- anions in the graphene based cathode with a new Al(ClO4)3/Propylene carbonate - Fluoroethylene carbonate electrolyte. The battery exhibited high discharge voltage plateaus (about 1 V), high-rate capacity (101 mA h g-1 at 2000 mA g-1) and long cycle life (more than 400 cycles). More importantly, the battery also showed superior electrochemical properties with fast charge and slow discharge (the battery could be fully charged in 13 min and discharged for more than 73 min). And the reaction mechanisms of the aluminum based dual-ion battery is also proposed and discussed in detail.