Controlling Magnesium Self-Corrosion in Mg–Air Batteries with the Conductive Nanocomposite PANI@3D-FCNT

Abstract

A promising potential device for storage of large amounts of energy is Mg-air batteries. However, the corrosion of the Mg electrode inside the battery electrolyte limits the battery's capacity to store energy. We present a new strategy to protect the Mg electrode from corrosion and increase the life cycle of Mg batteries in this article. The Mg electrode is coated with a conductive nanocomposite (PANI@3D-FCNT) in this technique. To better understand the anticorrosion properties of PANI@3D-FCNTs and their effect on the battery efficiency, electrochemical and battery tests are used. We discovered that PANI@3D-FCNT plays the most promising role in reducing Mg electrode corrosion in 3.5 wt % NaCl electrolyte, with an efficiency of 93.9%. The battery with the coated Mg electrode has a longer discharge time and a slower drop in operating voltage. The PANI@3D-FCNT nanocomposite will prolong the life of the Mg-air battery and keep the Mg electrode active for a long time. This work outstandingly provides an effective strategy to address the defects in the Mg-air batteries arising from electrode corrosion successfully. The work is a great way to open up new avenues for introducing new conductive nanocomposites in metal-air battery designs without using traditional methods.