Charging/discharging stability of a metal hydride battery electrode

Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1999 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1149/1.1391943· OSTI ID:680035

Geng, M; Han, J; Feng, F ^[1]; Northwood, D O ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Windsor, Ontario (Canada). Dept. of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
2. Ryerson Polytechnic Univ., Toronto, Ontario (Canada). Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science

The metal hydride (MH) alloy powder for the negative electrode of the Ni/MH battery was first pulverized and oxidized by electrochemically charging and discharging for a number of cycles. The plate of the negative electrode of an experimental cell in this study was made from a mixture of a multicomponent AB{sub 5}-based alloy powder, nickel powder, and polytetra fluoroethylene (PTFE). The characteristics of the negative electrode, including discharge capacity, exchange current density, and hydrogen diffusivity, were studied by means of the electrochemical experiments and analysis in an experimental cell. The exchange current density of a Mm{sub 0.95}Ti{sub 0.05}Ni{sub 3.85}Co{sub 0.45}Mn{sub 0.35}Al{sub 0.35} alloy electrode increases with increasing number of charge/discharge cycles and then remains almost constant after 20 cycles. A microcracking activation, resulting from an increase in reaction surface area and an improvement in the electrode surface activation, increases the hydrogen exchange current densities. Measurement of hydrogen diffusivities for Mm{sub 0.95}Ti{sub 0.05}Ni{sub 3.85}Co{sub 0.45}Mn{sub 0.35}Al{sub 0.35} alloy powder shows that the ratio of D/a{sup 2} (D = hydrogen diffusivity; a = sphere radius) increases with increasing number of cycles but remains constant after 20 cycles.

• OSTI ID: 680035
• Journal Information: Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the Electrochemical Society Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 146; ISSN 0013-4651; ISSN JESOAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
ANODES
BATTERY CHARGING
COBALT ALLOYS
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
MANGANESE ALLOYS
MISCH METAL
NICKEL ALLOYS
NICKEL-HYDROGEN BATTERIES
STABILITY
TITANIUM ALLOYS
VOLTAGE DROP