Effect of Cobalt on Fibrous Nickel Hydroxide Electrodes.

The nickel-cadmium battery, known for its long cycle life and high energy density, is likely to remain the rechargeable battery choice for some time to come. It is therefore desirable to increase its energy density. Our recent work explored the possiblity of improving the specific energy by employing a fibrous nickel mesh as the electrode substrate. The fibrous nickel electrodes that were initially prepared had about the same specific energy as the sintered nickel electrodes in common use today, but about 20-30% less energy per unit volume. Initial results showed that cobalt improved the electrode performance.