Electrochemical Analysis of an Aluminum-Citrate Ion Cell

The aim of this study is to prepare an aluminum-citrate ion cell from waste aluminum foils and citric acid extracted from Dovyalis caffra fruits (Kei apples) and further demonstrate their electrochemical performance for tropical terrains. Aluminum ions were prepared from discarded aluminum foils, and citrate ions were produced by co-precipitating macerated extracts of Dovyalis caffra by acid infusion. Aluminum foil wastes were broken down at room temperature using 1M HCl acid (35% ^v/_v) to produce aluminum oxide nanoparticles. When the Al₂Cl₃ digestate reached effervescence, it was thoroughly washed with running distilled water (equal volume) and co-precipitated with an equivalent aliquot of 0.5M sodium carbonate solution. The prepared nano-aluminum oxide was then analyzed and compared with commercial aluminum oxide using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and x-ray diffraction (XRD), The prepared particles revealed alpha-Al₂O₃ moieties and ranged in size from 66.3 to 106.1 nm. The cell's energy balance was 3361 J/s, and its density was 17.23 Wh/kg. The results showed that the cells could successfully produce energy storage devices from waste materials.