Rechargeable aluminum ion battery

1. An aluminum-ion battery comprising:

an anode comprising aluminum, an aluminum alloy or an aluminum compound;

a cathode that comprises at least one active material, wherein the at least one active material comprises a manganese oxide doped with one or more of iodine, nitrogen, boron and phosphorus;

a porous separator comprising an electrically insulating material that prevents direct contact of the anode and the cathode; and

an electrolyte comprising a solution of an aluminum salt, wherein the electrolyte is in contact with the anode and the cathode.

2. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the aluminum alloy comprises aluminum and at least one element selected from the group consisting of manganese, magnesium, lithium, zirconium, iron, cobalt, tungsten, vanadium, nickel, copper, silicon, chromium, titanium, tin and zinc.

3. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the anode has received a treatment that is effective to increase the hydrophilic properties of the anode surface that is in contact with the electrolyte.

4. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 3 , wherein the treatment comprises contacting the surface of the anode with an aqueous solution of an alkali metal hydroxide selected from the group consisting of lithium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and mixtures thereof.

5. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the anode comprises the aluminum compound and the aluminum compound is selected from the group consisting of an aluminum transition metal oxide (Al x M y O z , where M is a transition metal selected from the group consisting of iron, vanadium, titanium, molybdenum, copper, nickel, zinc, tungsten, manganese, chromium, cobalt and mixtures thereof and x, y, and z range from 0 to 8, inclusive); an aluminum transition metal sulfide, (Al x M y S z , where M is a transition metal selected from the group consisting of iron, vanadium, titanium, molybdenum, copper, nickel, zinc, tungsten, manganese, chromium, cobalt and mixtures thereof and x, y, and z range from 0 to 8, inclusive); aluminum lithium cobalt oxide (AlLi 3 CoO 2 ); lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH 4 ); sodium aluminum hydride (NaAlH 4 ); potassium aluminum fluoride (KAlF 4 ); and mixtures thereof.

6. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the aluminum salt is selected from the group consisting of aluminum nitrate, aluminum sulfate, aluminum phosphate, aluminum bromide hexahydrate, aluminum fluoride, aluminum fluoride trihydrate, aluminum iodide hexahydrate, aluminum perchlorate, aluminum hydroxide, and combinations thereof.

7. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 6 , wherein the electrolyte is an aqueous solution of the aluminum salt.

8. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 7 , wherein the electrolyte is an aqueous solution of aluminum nitrate.

9. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 7 , wherein the electrolyte is an 0.05-5 M aqueous solution of aluminum nitrate.

10. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 7 , wherein the electrolyte comprises 1-30 wt % hydrogen peroxide.

11. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the electrolyte further comprises an alkali metal hydroxide selected from the group consisting of lithium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide and mixtures thereof.

12. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 11 , wherein the electrolyte comprises an aqueous solution of aluminum nitrate and lithium hydroxide in a molar ratio of about 1:1 to about 1:10.

13. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the electrolyte further comprises a polymer selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene, acetonitrile butadiene styrene, styrene butadiene rubber, ethyl vinyl acetate, poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene), polymethyl methacrylate, and mixtures thereof.

14. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the electrolyte further comprises an aluminum halide selected from the group consisting of aluminum chloride, aluminum bromide, aluminum iodide, and mixtures thereof and a 1-ethyl methylimidazolium halide selected from the group consisting of 1-ethyl methylimidazolium chloride, 1-ethyl methylimidazolium bromide, 1-ethyl methylimidazolium iodide and mixtures thereof.

15. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 14 , wherein the aluminum halide and the 1-ethyl methylimidazolium halide are present in the ratio of 1:1 to 5:1 (weight:weight).

16. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the electrolyte comprises a solvent selected from the group consisting of water, ethanol, N-methyl pyrrolidone, dimethyl sulfoxide and mixtures thereof.

17. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the porous separator comprises a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinyl chloride, ceramic, polyester, rubber, polyolefins, glass mat, polypropylene, a mixed cellulose ester, nylon, glass microfiber and mixtures and combinations thereof.

18. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the average pore size of the porous separator is about 0.067 μm to about 1.2 μm.

19. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the cathode comprises the manganese oxide doped with one or more of iodine, nitrogen, boron and phosphorus and the doped manganese oxide is manganese dioxide doped with iodine.

20. An aluminum-ion battery comprising:

an anode comprising an aluminum transition metal oxide (Al x M y O z , where M is a transition metal);

a cathode comprising a manganese oxide doped with one or more of iodine, nitrogen, boron and phosphorus; and

an electrolyte comprising an aqueous solution of an aluminum salt selected from the group consisting of aluminum nitrate, aluminum sulfate, aluminum phosphate, aluminum bromide hexahydrate, aluminum fluoride, aluminum fluoride trihydrate, aluminum iodide hexahydrate, aluminum perchlorate, aluminum hydroxide, and combinations thereof.

21. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 20 , wherein M is one or more of manganese, chromium, and cobalt.

22. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 20 , wherein M is cobalt.

23. A system comprising an aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the battery is operatively connected to a controller, and wherein the controller is adapted to be operatively connected to a source of electrical power and to a load.

24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the controller is effective to control the charging of the battery by the source of electrical power.

25. The system of claim 23 , wherein the controller is effective to control the discharging of the battery by the load.

26. The system of claim 23 , wherein the controller is adapted to provide a discharge pattern that is a combination of high and low current density galvanostatic steps.

27. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 20 , wherein manganese oxide is doped with iodine.

28. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the cathode comprises manganese dioxide that has been synthesized on a porous SiO 2 template.

29. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein the manganese oxide is doped with iodine.

30. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 29 , wherein a concentration of the iodine in the manganese oxide is no more than about 1 wt %.

31. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 30 , wherein the concentration of the iodine in the manganese oxide is about 1 wt %.

32. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 31 , wherein the battery has a charge and discharge hysteresis of no more than about 130 mV.

33. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 1 , wherein a concentration of the one or more of iodine, nitrogen, boron and phosphorous in the manganese oxide is no more than about 1 wt %.

34. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 33 , wherein the concentration of the one or more of iodine, nitrogen, boron and phosphorous in the manganese oxide is about 1 wt %.

35. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 27 , wherein a concentration of the iodine in the manganese oxide is no more than about 1 wt %.

36. The aluminum-ion battery of claim 35 , wherein the concentration of the iodine in the manganese oxide is about 1 wt %.