RECHARGEABLE ALKALINE MANGANESE-DIOXIDE ZINC BATTERIES

The rechargeable alkaline manganese dioxide/zinc MnO2/Zn) system, long established commercially as a primary battery, has reached a high lev el of performance as a secondary battery system. The operating princip les are presented and the technological achievements are surveyed by r eferencing the recent publications and patent literature. A review is also given of the improvements obtained with newly formulated cathodes and anodes and specially designed batteries. Supported by modelling o f the cathode and anode processes and by statistical evidence during c ycling of parallel/series-connected modules, the envisioned performanc e of the next generation of these batteries is described. The possibil ity of extending the practical use of the improved rechargeable MnO2/Z n system beyond the field of small electronics into the area of power tools, and even to kW-sized power sources, is demonstrated. Finally, t he commercial development in comparison with other rechargeable batter y systems is examined.