Abstract:
Disclosed is a carbonaceous material for anodes of lithium ion rechargeable batteries. The carbonaceous material consists of soot particles which are prepared from liquified propane gas through thermal decomposition. The soot particles are of disordered or amorphous carbon with very small crystallite sizes (La, Lc≦30 Å), containing a large quantity of unorganized carbon. When being used as an active material for an anode of a lithium ion secondary cell, the soot shows far greater reversible capacity than do conventional graphite carbonaceous materials.
Abstract:
A method for producing an electrode of Ni/metal hydride alloy secondary cells. The electrode may be produced by mixing an active material with approximately 10-50 wt % of Cu powders, which can serve as a binder as well as a current collector, and cold-pressing the mixture at a pressure of 10 ton/cm. As the Cu-compacted electrode continues to experience the cycle of charge and discharge, the desolution-deposition of Cu is gradually produced. This desolution-deposition of Cu allows Cu to be deposited on the surface of the electrode comprising the hydrogen storage alloy, so that the electrode can be similar to a conventional Cu-electroless plated electrode in surface morphology. Consequently, the method of the invention can be an alternative for conventional electroless plating, which significantly improves the general functions of hydrogen storage alloy electrode, including low temperature dischargeability and high rate capability, without producing pollution of the environment.
Abstract:
Disclosed is a method for preparing a high performance, negative electrode for Ni/metal hydride cells. A Zr-based hydrogen storage alloy, a binder comprising a mixture of polytetrafluoroethylene and 50th and a thickening agent (hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose), and a current collector comprising carbon black and copper are slurried and molded into a paste-type electrode. In a closed type cell, the copper repetitively undergoes melting and deposition on the electrode during charging and discharging cycles, allowing the electrode to show a similar change in surface morphology and electrochemical properties to that of a conventionally electroless plated electrode. Giving a contribution to the improvement in cell properties, including inner cell pressure, high rate dischargeability and energy density per volume, the method can substitute conventional alloy surface modifying methods, such as electroless plating methods and other pre-treatment processes necessary for the preparation of electrodes, which are difficult to practice owing to the production of pollution of the environment and to requirement of additional procedures.
Abstract:
There are disclosed Mm/Ni type hydrogen storage alloys for Ni/MH secondary cells. The alloys which allow the cells to be of high performance and high capacity can be prepared at lower costs than the production costs of conventional Co-rich hydrogen storage alloys, by reducing the amount of the Co element. The Co element is partially or wholly replaced by by Cr, Cu, Fe, Zn and/or Zi, which are each known to be of stronger affinity for hydrogen than is Co and to have such a strong oxidation tendency in electrolytes as to form a highly dense oxide. The novel alloys have discharge capacities and electrode life span as good as those of the conventional Co-rich hydrogen storage alloys but have advantages over the Co-rich alloys, including performance-to-cost.