Nanostructured Mg Thin Film Electrodes for Mg-Air Batteries

Over the past decades, primary Mg-air batteries got the attention of several researchers due to their low cost, non-toxicity, and theoretically expected high terminal voltage and high specific capacity values. However, corrosion and formation of a passivation layer around the electrode have been among the major challenges resulting in low columbic efficiencies compared to theoretically expected values. In this study, we utilized a glancing angle deposition (GLAD) method for fabricating nanostructured Mg thin film electrodes with unique physical properties to overcome these problems. Electrodes were prepared using a thermal evaporation GLAD system. Magnesium coatings in various forms ranging from conventional dense thin films to highly porous nanoblades were prepared through the control of deposition angle from normal to oblique angles, respectively. We show that the properties of Mg-air batteries can be significantly improved using nanostructured Mg thin film electrodes and lead to enhanced terminal voltage and specific capacity values.