Electrode characteristics of nanocrystalline AB5 compounds prepared by mechanical alloying

Nanocrystalline LaNi5 and LaNi4.5Si0.5 synthesized by mechanical alloying were used as negative materials for Ni–MH batteries. It was found that the electrodes prepared with the nanocrystalline powders had similar discharge capacities, better activation behaviors, and longer cycle lifetimes, compared with the negative electrode prepared with polycrystalline coarse-grained LaNi5 alloy. The properties of the electrodes prepared with these nanocrystalline materials were attributed to the structural characteristics of the compounds caused by mechanical alloying.