LAUSR

Abstract The effect of second phases on discharge properties and corrosion behaviors of the as-cast Mg-Ca-Zn anodes for primary Mg-air batteries is investigated in this work. The results indicate that the second phases varied from Mg2Ca to Ca2Mg6Zn3 with Zn content increased. The Mg-2Zn-1Ca alloy has the best discharge properties among all prepared Mg-Ca-Zn alloys. The Mg-2Zn-1Ca alloy can discharge steadily for over 10 hours at both 2 mA cm−2 and 10 mA cm−2 current densities, and its anode efficiency can be as high as 60.4% at high current densities. The enhancement of discharge properties is due to improving corrosion resistance and reducing the chunk effect.