Hydrogenation and Discharge Capacity of a La0.7Mg0.3Al0.3Mn0.4Co0.5Ni3.8 Alloy for Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries

The preparation of negative electrodes for nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries using a La0.2Mg0.3Al0.3Mn0.4Co0.5Ni3.8 alloy in the as-cast state has been carried out. The alloy was mechanically crushed (<44 mu m) and a battery was manufactured with this material. The mean discharge capacity achieved using this method was 384 mAh/g. Another two batteries were prepared using a hydrogen powdered La0.7Mg0.3Al0.3Mn0.4Co0.5Ni3.8 alloy at low and high pressures (2-10 bar). It has been shown that hydrogen powdering facilitates the activation of the negative electrode for Ni-MH batteries. This study also included the characterization of the hydrogenated and crushed powders. These materials were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).