Cyclic voltammetric studies of porous iron electrodes in alkaline solutions used for alkaline batteries

Cyclic voltammetric studies have been conducted in order to develop a suitable method for characterizing the performance of sintered porous iron electrodes in 5.35 M KOH with 0.65 M LiOH solution. The separation of peak potential (ΔEp) and the ratio of cathodic to anodic charges (Qc/Qa) of the Fe/Fe(II) and Fe(II)/Fe(III) couples at zero sweep rates are used to evaluate the reversibility of the porous iron and iron-sulfur electrodes. The influence of additives to the solution (i.e., 0.05 M thiourea, 0.025 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), 0.01 M hexamine and 0.01 M Na2S) on the electrode reversibility is also examined.