In order to shed some light into the importance of the anodic reaction in reversible aluminium batteries, we investigate here the electrodeposition of aluminium in an ionic liquid electrolyte (BMImCl-AlCl₃) using different substrates. We explore the influence of the type of anodic material (aluminium, stainless steel and carbon) and its 3D geometry on the reversibility of the anodic reaction by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge. The shape of the CVs confirms that electrodeposition of aluminium was feasible in the three materials but the highest peak currents and smallest peak separation in the CV of the aluminium anode suggested that this material was the most promising. Interestingly, carbon-based substrates appeared as an interesting alternative due to the high peak currents in CV, moderate overpotentials and dual role as anode and cathode. 3D substrates such as fiber-based carbon paper and aluminium mesh showed significantly smaller overpotentials and higher efficiencies for Al reaction suggesting that the use of 3D substrates in full batteries might result in enhanced power. This is corroborated by polarization testing of full Al-batteries.

为了阐明可逆铝电池中阳极反应的重要性，我们在这里研究铝在离子液体电解质（BMImCl-AlCl ₃）使用不同的基材。我们通过循环伏安法（CV）和恒电流充放电研究了阳极材料类型（铝，不锈钢和碳）及其3D几何形状对阳极反应可逆性的影响。CV的形状证实了在这三种材料中进行铝的电沉积是可行的，但是铝阳极的CV中最高的峰值电流和最小的峰间距表明该材料是最有前途的。有趣的是，由于CV中的峰值电流高，中等的过电势以及阳极和阴极的双重作用，碳基衬底似乎是一个有趣的选择。3D基底（例如，基于纤维的碳纸和铝网）显示出明显较小的过电位和较高的Al反应效率，这表明在完整电池中使用3D基底可能会提高功率。全铝电池的极化测试证实了这一点。