Breakthrough in Aluminium Battery Technology: Graphite Surface Engineering Leads to Enhanced Performance

Research conducted by a team of scientists at Chalmers University of Technology has made a significant discovery in the field of surface engineering, specifically tailored to enhance the performance of aluminium batteries. The team's findings, reported in the journal Carbon, highlight the importance of graphite surface chemistry in the storage capabilities of chloroaluminate anions. By employing a plasma-enabled surface engineering strategy, the researchers achieved a significant increase in electrochemical performance, paving the way for the development of practical aluminium batteries using commercially available graphite.

Key Takeaways:

• The research team discovered that the quality of graphite, surface chemistry, contamination, and various structures affect the performance of aluminium batteries differently.
• A mild hydrogen and argon plasma treatment was used to engineer the graphite surface, resulting in a significant increase in electrochemical performance.
• The hydrogen plasma-treated graphite exhibited a remarkable specific capacity of 132.68 mAh/g at 50 mA/g and excellent high-rate performance of 83.94 mAh/g at 1000 mA/g.
• The plasma surface tailoring allowed the fast intercalation of chloroaluminate anions, demonstrated by ex-situ Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies.
• Density functional theory calculations confirmed the effect of the surface treatment on ion intercalation and energy storage capability.
• The research concluded that a new path to developing practical aluminium batteries using commercially available graphite has been paved.

Statistics:

• Specific capacity: 132.68 mAh/g at 50 mA/g
• High-rate performance: 83.94 mAh/g at 1000 mA/g
• Number of authors: 9 (Jinhua Sun, Ruiqi Chen, Komal Gola, Nitish Kumar, Neelakandan M. Santhosh, Janez Zavasnik, Uros Cvelbar, Ravi Kumar Trivedi, Saju Joseph)
• Number of research institutions: 2 (Chalmers University of Technology, Slovenian Research Agency)

Sources:

• NewsRx LLC (2025, October 20). Report Summarizes Surface Engineering Study Findings from Chalmers University of Technology (Plasma Surface Engineering of Graphite and Its Effect On Advancing the Performance of Aluminium Battery). Journal of Engineering, 2973.
• Jinhua Sun et al. (2025). Plasma Surface Engineering of Graphite and Its Effect On Advancing the Performance of Aluminium Battery. Carbon, 245.