The novel mesoporous NiO/C microspheres as cathode material for alkaline NiO–Zn battery

Abstract

The novel mesoporous NiO/C microspheres have been synthesized, the process involves the first production of α-Ni(OH)2/C precursors followed by thermal annealing at 400 °C under air. The prepared NiO/C composites were characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, EDS and element mapping, and the synthesized samples show an ultrahigh discharge capacity of 134 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1 in NiO–Zn battery. Moreover, the NiO–Zn battery exhibits a good cycling life and capacity retention about 85% after 1000 charge–discharge cycles. All these indicate that the synthesized NiO/C composites may be a good new positive material for alkaline Ni–Zn rechargeable battery.