A. Audemer et al., ELECTROCHEMICAL AND RAMAN STUDIES OF BETA-TYPE NICKEL HYDROXIDES NI1-XCOX(OH)(2) ELECTRODE MATERIALS, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 144(8), 1997, pp. 2614-2620
A large variety of pure beta-Ni(OH)(2) and cobalt-substituted nickel h
ydroxides Ni1-xCox(OH)(2) of well-controlled chemical composition, par
ticle size, and morphology have been prepared and characterized by x-r
ay, transmission electron microscopy, electrochemical, and Raman spect
rometry studies. The hydroxide particle size and its Co-substituted co
ntent were found to govern the Ni-electrode capacity. Once these param
eters were controlled, P-nickel hydroxide specimens able to reversibly
exchange more than one electron per metal atom (Ni + Co) were routine
ly prepared. beta-Ni1-xCox(OH)(2) Raman spectra consists of five lines
. The intensities of the ones located at 3605 and 515 cm(-1) were foun
d to change as a function of the particle size and the Co content. Ind
eed, the line at 3605 cm(-1), ascribed to adsorbed water, appears and
grows when the particle size decreases (e.g., when the surface/volume
ratio increases), while the line located at 515 cm(-1) is enhanced by
the presence of coprecipitated cobalt. A direct correlation between th
e intensity of the 515 cm(-1) Raman line and the electrochemical capac
ity of the nickel hydroxide sample is found. Raman spectroscopy can th
en be used as a powerful nondestructive tool to differentiate ''high c
apacity'' from low capacity nickel hydroxide samples.