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Prototype systems for rechargeable magnesium batteries

Nature volume 407, pages 724–727 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

The thermodynamic properties of magnesium make it a natural choice for use as an anode material in rechargeable batteries, because it may provide a considerably higher energy density than the commonly used lead–acid and nickel–cadmium systems. Moreover, in contrast to lead and cadmium, magnesium is inexpensive, environmentally friendly and safe to handle. But the development of Mg batteries has been hindered by two problems. First, owing to the chemical activity of Mg, only solutions that neither donate nor accept protons are suitable as electrolytes; but most of these solutions allow the growth of passivating surface films, which inhibit any electrochemical reaction1,2,3. Second, the choice of cathode materials has been limited by the difficulty of intercalating Mg ions in many hosts4. Following previous studies of the electrochemistry of Mg electrodes in various non-aqueous solutions1,5, and of a variety of intercalation electrodes6,7, we have now developed rechargeable Mg battery systems that show promise for applications. The systems comprise electrolyte solutions based on Mg organohaloaluminate salts, and MgxMo3S4 cathodes, into which Mg ions can be intercalated reversibly, and with relatively fast kinetics. We expect that further improvements in the energy density will make these batteries a viable alternative to existing systems.

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Figure 1: Comparison of cyclic voltammograms of electrolyte solutions in which magnesium can be deposited reversibly.
Figure 2: Results of typical galvanostatic EQCM experiments of Mg deposition–dissolution cycles with gold/quartz electrodes13.
Figure 3: Typical electrochemical behaviour and the basic structure of the MgxMo3S4 cathodes, 0 < x <1, corresponding to a maximal charge capacity of 122 mA h g-1.
Figure 4: Performance of rechargeable Mg–MgxMo3S4 coin-cell batteries during cycling at constant currents (0.2–0.3 mA cm-2).

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by Advance Technology Upgrading (ATU) Ltd, Israel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan , 52900, Israel

    D. Aurbach, Z. Lu, A. Schechter, Y. Gofer, H. Gizbar, R. Turgeman, Y. Cohen, M. Moshkovich & E. Levi

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  1. D. Aurbach
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Correspondence to D. Aurbach.

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Aurbach, D., Lu, Z., Schechter, A. et al. Prototype systems for rechargeable magnesium batteries. Nature 407, 724–727 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35037553

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