A COMOSITE ELECTRODE FOR STUDYING POWDERED ELECTROACTIVE MATERIALS - PREPARATION AND PERFORMANCE

An advance in Ni-Cd rechargeable battery technology is being achieved by introducing positive active material made of pasted nickel hydroxid e spherical particles (SP) into a nickel foam. The performance of this kind of electrode, and particularly its improved volumic capacity, ar e determined by several technological factors, the contributions of wh ich are difficult to dissociate. A composite electrode was prepared by electrodeposition of nickel from a Ni(OH)2 particle suspension in a W atts' bath. A single layer of particles was partly embedded in the nic kel coating grown on a nickel support. It is shown that the contributi on of the metallic nickel matrix is negligibly small in both kinetic a nd spectroscopic responses of the electrode hence allowing the behavio ur of the nickel hydroxide particles to be investigated.