A Study on the Electrochemical Performance of SLMed Al6061/TiB2 Composite Anodes Caused by Laser Power

Aluminum-air batteries have attracted more attention in recent years due to the theoretical possibility of replacing lithium batteries. Al6061/0.5wt.%TiB₂ is considered a suitable anode material due to decreased hydrogenation corrosion. In this work, laser power was optimized via a selective laser melting process to increase the electrochemical and discharge performance of an Al composite anode. Relative density was studied in this work, and the formation mechanism caused by molten pool morphology was also researched using finite element analysis and experiments. The self-corrosion rate, open-circuit potential, polarization curve, EIS curve, and constant-current discharge performance were all studied in the following section, and the relationship between anode quality and laser power was discussed accordingly. The testing results revealed that when laser power reached 340 W, the Al6061/0.5wt.%TiB₂ composite anode reached a relative optimal condition as defects reduced to a minimum value at this point, which resulted in overall anode performance increasing in the electrochemical and discharge test.