Abaid ur Rehman Virk\(^1\) and Murat Cancan\(^2\)
\(^1\)Department of Mathematics, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan.
\(^2\)Faculty of Education,Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey.
Aluminum-based alloys are promising anode materials for metal–air systems, yet parasitic hydrogen evolution and micro-galvanic corrosion in alkaline electrolytes remain central barriers to high anodic efficiency. Motivated by prior evidence that an Al–Co–Mn composition near 20 at% Co improves polarization resistance after thermal exposure, this work develops a process–structure–performance framework that couples heat-treatment-driven microstructural descriptors to electrochemical film properties and anode utilization. A designed heat-treatment window is applied to Al–Co–Mn alloys spanning Co and Mn contents around the reported optimum. Corrosion behavior is quantified using open-circuit stabilization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and potentiodynamic polarization in 3 M alkaline electrolyte, while functional anode metrics are obtained through hydrogen evolution rate measurements, mass loss, and galvanostatic discharge. EIS data are interpreted using a physically motivated two-time-constant model separating charge-transfer resistance and passive-film resistance, enabling a direct mapping between film stability and hydrogen evolution suppression. The results demonstrate that heat treatments that homogenize intermetallic distributions and reduce cathodic connectivity increase passive-film resistance, shift pitting potentials to more noble values, and raise anodic efficiency under discharge. The proposed workflow provides a transferable methodology for optimizing multiphase aluminum anodes by jointly maximizing protective-film integrity and minimizing parasitic hydrogen evolution.