Aluminum/sulfur battery discharge in the high current domain

We previously introduced an aqueous aluminum/sulfur battery with separate anode and cathode compartments (separated by an ion-selective membrane). The high-capacity cathode compartment contained aqueous polysulfide electrolyte, while the anode compartment contained concentrated alkali, but no polysulfide, electrolyte to prevent chemical attack of the aluminum by solution-phase zero-valent sulfur. We report here that concentrated dissolved sulfur, rather than attacking the aluminum anode, permits facile efficient aluminum oxidation. Therefore, a cell configuration without a resistive limiting membrane is feasible. An aluminum/sulfur battery is demonstrated to be capable of sustained current densities of 1 A/cm(2). High efficiency and current density are important for electric vehicle applications.