Effect of mercury-silver alloy composition on the open-circuit voltage of cadmium/mercuric oxide cells

Journal Article · Sat Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2059123· OSTI ID:7006054

Kronenberg, M L; Stein, B J; Codd, B P ^[1]

---

1. Mine Safety Appliances Co., Sparks, MD (United States)

To minimize the migration of mercury droplets when discharging cadmium/mercuric oxide (Cd/HgO) cells, silver powder is often blended with HgO powder in the cathode to promote formation of a solid Hg-Ag alloy. Even though only high purity materials are used, open-circuit cell voltages are much higher than what is normally observed when Ag powder is not present. There is also a significant variation in the open-circuit voltage (OCV) of a given lot of Cd/HgO cells. The authors hypothesized that this high OCV and cell voltage variation is at least partially attributed to uncontrolled very small quantities of mercury present in the HgO. The potential variations arise from the reduced activity of mercury in the Hg-Ag alloy. The experiments that were carried out and reported here support this hypothesis.

• OSTI ID: 7006054
• Journal Information: Journal of the Electrochemical Society; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of the Electrochemical Society; (United States) Vol. 141:10; ISSN JESOAN; ISSN 0013-4651
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
250902* -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Performance & Testing
ALLOYS
CHALCOGENIDES
DIAGRAMS
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ENGINEERING
MERCURY ALLOYS
MERCURY COMPOUNDS
MERCURY OXIDES
METAL-METAL OXIDE BATTERIES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE
PHASE DIAGRAMS
SAFETY ENGINEERING
SILVER ALLOYS