Aluminum-hydrogen peroxide sea water battery

Aluminum and Hydrogen peroxide (Al-H2O2) are abundant, low cost bulk chemicals. As active materials in a battery, the couple has a theoretical electromotive force of >2 volts and an open circuit voltage of 1.8 volts is observed. Aluminum anodes offer not only a high energy density but also exceptional safety over the lithium systems for sea water applications. Therefore, it is of interest to exploit these potential merits of the Al-H2O2batteries to power unmanned untethered submersible systems. Previous results on the use of Al and H2O2for aqueous batteries indicated a number of problems. These included high corrosion or passivation of the aluminum anodes, a limited rate of discharge, and instability of H2O2. Recent advances in aluminum alloy electrodes have minimized the problems associated with the anode. Further, investigations on oxygen and H2O2electrodes for the acidic and alkaline fuel cells have given insight into the mechanism of reduction and the stability of H2O2electrodes. We have extended these studies to neutral and near neutral electrolytes. Based on the results, we propose that it is possible to develop practical high energy density Al - H2O2batteries for undersea applications. The chemistry of the cells, recent advances, and concepts for battery development are discussed in this paper.