Due to their high theoretical volumetric capacity, aluminum–air batteries are an up-and-coming alternative for energy storage in mobile applications. However, there are still several problems that need to be solved to make the technology commercially viable. One of the most significant problems in this type of battery is self-corrosion in alkaline electrolytes. For that reason, in this study, we implemented NH4VO3 and NH4VO3 derivatives mixed with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as high-performance anticorrosive additives in cells that contain commercial aluminum alloys (Al7475, Al6062, and Al5052) as anode and alkaline liquid or gelled electrolytes. We compared these batteries with blank batteries (no additive) and batteries that contain the most studied ZnO additive. We observed that cells with NH4VO3 additives outperformed blank cells or cells with ZnO additives in terms of specific capacity and energy. Notably, in the case of cells with liquid electrolytes, NH4VO3 and NH4VO3 + CMC additives also duplicated the battery’s performance time. We also implemented NH4VO3-based additives in four-battery-stack configurations connected in series and concluded that these additives are promising candidates for aluminum–air cells.

Aluminum-air batteries are a promising alternative for portable energy storage. However, one of the significant issues in this technology is the corrosion of aluminum in alkaline electrolytes. In this study, we explored heteropolyacids (HPAs) H 5 PMo 11 Al 0.5 V 0.5 O 40 and H 6 PMo 11 AlO 40 as possible anti-corrosive additives in Al7475, Al6062, and Al5052 commercial alloys. We also investigated the anti-corrosive properties of commercial NH 4 VO 3 and ZnO. Concerning HPAs, only H 6 PMo 11 AlO 40 in combination with Al5052 showed anti-corrosive activity. However, ZnO did not present anti-corrosive properties in Al6062 alloy, while NH 4 VO 3 presented anti-corrosive properties for all three alloys. The combination of carboxymethylcellulose with NH 4 VO 3 further improved the anti-corrosive properties in the Al7475 alloy. We observed by using 2D Raman imaging the formation of polymeric forms of tetrahedral V +5 O 4 over the surface of three alloys. The main conclusion of our studies is that NH 4 VO 3 combined with carboxymethylcellulose is a promising anti-corrosive in the alkaline electrolyte of aluminum-air batteries.