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 separatio n of peak potential (Delta E(p)) and the ratio of cathodic to anodic c harges (Q(c)/Q(a)) 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 solutio n (i.e., 0.05 M thiourea, 0.025 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDT A), 0.01 M hexamine and 0.01 M Na2S) on the electrode reversibility is also examined.