Abstract

High-power cylindrical nickel metal/hydride batteries using a misch metal-based Al-free superlattice alloy with a composition of La11.3Pr1.7Nd5.1Mg4.5Ni63.6Co13.6Zr0.2 were fabricated and evaluated against those using a standard AB5 metal hydride alloy. At room temperature, cells made with the superlattice alloy showed a 40% lower internal resistance and a 59% lower surface charge-transfer resistance compared to cells made with the AB5 alloy. At a low temperature (−10 °C), cells made with the superlattice alloy demonstrated an 18% lower internal resistance and a 60% lower surface charge-transfer resistance compared to cells made with the AB5 alloy. Cells made with the superlattice alloy exhibited a better charge retention at −10 °C. A cycle life comparison in a regular cell configuration indicated that the Al-free superlattice alloy contributes to a shorter cycle life as a result of the pulverization from the lattice expansion of the main phase.

Highlights

  • Nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) batteries have been serving consumer portable electronics, hybrid electric vehicles, and stationary applications for more than 30 years [1,2,3,4,5,6]

  • The misch metal (Mm)-based superlattice MH alloy began to take over the market share because of its higher capacities; better high-rate dischargeability; and superior low-temperature, high-temperature, and charge retention performances compared to the conventional

  • Pr and Nd were added to reduce the corrosion nature of the alloy, Ce and Mn were not included in the consideration of cycle stability and self-discharge [2,21], Co was added for low-temperature performance enhancement [19], and a very small amount of Zr was added for scavenging residual oxygen in the chamber

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Summary

Introduction

Nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) batteries have been serving consumer portable electronics, hybrid electric vehicles, and stationary applications for more than 30 years [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The misch metal (Mm)-based AB5 metal hydride (MH) alloy was the mainstream negative electrode active material [7]. The Mm-based superlattice MH alloy began to take over the market share because of its higher capacities; better high-rate dischargeability; and superior low-temperature, high-temperature, and charge retention performances compared to the conventional. The A-site of the superlattice MH alloy contains both rare-earth (RE) and alkaline earth (usually Mg) elements. While almost all academic research has focused on the single RE element (La or Nd)-based superlattice MH alloys (for reviews, see [9,10,11]), commercial applications have adopted the Mm composition for a higher cycle stability [2,12]. A few papers about the substitution works performed in the Mm-based superlattice alloy family with Al [13], Mn [14,15], Fe [16,17], Co [18,19,20], and Ce [21] were published, but a systematic performance comparison between a Mm-based superlattice MH alloy and a standard

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