A green dual complexation precipitation synthesis of hierarchical α-Ni(OH)2 microspheres and their electrochemical performance

The ever-growing demand for energy has greatly stimulated recent researches on developing high-performance materials for nickel-based rechargeable batteries. However, the practical applications of Nickel-base batteries are largely hindered due to lack of high power density and long lifespan of their cathode materials, alpha-Ni(OH)(2). Here, Al-doped alpha-Ni(OH)(2) microspheres comprising densely packed irregular nano sheets have been synthesized via a dual complexation-precipitation (DCP) method. The resulting electrode offers a large specific capacity of 457.9 mAh g(-1) at remarkably high rate of 500 mA g(-1), which is 47.0% larger than that for beta-Ni(OH)(2) under the same conditions. In addition, the electrode still keeps 87.0% of the initial capacity after 2000 cycles, displaying excellent cycling performance. The outstanding electrochemical performance benefits from the synergistic contribution of the doped metal ions and the unique hierarchical structure. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.