A method of cobalt addition to improve nickel plaque electrode performance

The addition of cobalt to the surface of aerospace-quality sintered nickel plaque was observed to improve plate performance. Initially, substitution of cobalt metal powder for 5% of the nickel powder in sintered nickel plaque improved electrode performance during cycling in a LEO regime at 80% DoD in a boilerplate cell. A soak/resinter method was developed to reduce the amount required and limit cobalt addition to the plaque surface. A boilerplate cell containing these cobalt-enhanced nickel plates had higher capacity utilization then a 50 A h NiH2 cell containing electrodes made from standard sintered nickel plaque over the temperature range −10 to +20°C.