Synthesis and characterization of high-density non-spherical Ni(OH)2 cathode material for Ni–MH batteries

Positive electrode active materials of non-spherical nickel hydroxide powders with a high tap-density for alkaline Ni–MH batteries have been successfully synthesized using a polyacrylamide (PAM) assisted two-step drying method. The tap-density of the powders reaches 2.32 g cm−3, which is significantly higher than that of nickel hydroxide powders obtained by the conventional co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) testing, laser particle size analysis, tap-density testing, cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and a charge–discharge test were used to characterize the physical and electrochemical properties of the synthesized material. The results show that the as-prepared nickel hydroxide materials have an irregular tabular shape, a high density of structural disorder, and a high specific surface area. The charge–discharge tests indicate that nickel hydroxide powders synthesized by the new method have better electrochemical performance than those obtained by the conventional co-precipitation method. This performance improvement could be attributable to a more compact electrode microstructure, a lower amount of intercalated anions, better reaction reversibility, a higher proton diffusion coefficient, and lower electrochemical impedance, as indicated by TG-DTA, CV, and EIS. The results clearly show that better electrochemical activity can be achieved using nickel hydroxide that has a higher tap-density. Moreover, the new synthesis process is simple, cost-effective, and facile for large-scale production.