Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus – product – and – Current producing cell – elements – subcombinations and... – Electrode
Patent
1996-08-02
2000-02-29
Nuzzolillo, Maria
Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and
Current producing cell, elements, subcombinations and...
Electrode
420900, H01M 4038, H01M 446
Patent
active
060307242
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a hydrogen-storage alloy and an alkali secondary battery using the alloy.
BACKGROUND ART
In recent years, hydrogen which, when burnt, is transformed into H.sub.2 O has been attracting attention as a clean energy. When utilization of hydrogen for energy is contemplated, such factors as the method for storage of hydrogen and the method for transportation thereof claim an important consideration. Since ordinary cylinders require large volumes for containing hydrogen economically, it is necessary to adopt some other methods. A hydrogen-storage alloy that reacts with hydrogen and absorbs hydrogen in the form of a metal hydroxide and, when exposed to heat, releases the hydrogen has been arresting keen attention as potential means for storage and transportation of hydrogen. The hydrogen-storage alloy promises extensive utility. Besides the means for storage of hydrogen and the means for transportation thereof mentioned above, the feasibility of utilizing the hydrogen-storage alloy in a wide variety of applications such as in fuel sources for automobiles driven by hydrogen, materials for anodes in secondary batteries, devices for separation, recovery, and refinement of hydrogen, heat pumps, quenching and warming systems, refrigerating systems, heat storing devices, actuators, compressors, temperature sensors, and catalysts is being studied.
The advance of electronic devices in recent years has come to demand secondary batteries as power sources for these electronic devices to offer improved performance. Specifically, the batteries have been required to acquire an increased capacity and an elongated service life. As respects the former requirement, in the Ni--Cd secondary batteries which have been in popular use to date, for example, nonsintered Ni--Cd secondary batteries provided with nonsintered electrodes of a three-dimensional construction have been developed to take the place of the electrode substrates in the conventional sintered batteries. These nonsintered Ni--Cd secondary batteries, however, have not necessarily attained a conspicuous increase in capacity.
In recent years, such an alkali secondary battery as, for example, a Ni-hydride secondary battery which uses as an anode what has a hydrogen-storage alloy powder immobilized in a collector has been proposed and has come to attract attention. The anode using this hydrogen-storage alloy is capable of increasing the energy density per unit weight or unit volume as compared with cadmium (Cd), a material for the anode in the typical conventional alkali secondary battery. The Ni-hydride secondary battery, therefore, is characterized by permitting an increase in the capacity of a secondary battery and having only a sparing possibility of environmental pollution as well.
As prospective materials for the construction of anodes in such secondary batteries as mentioned above, such crystalline hydrogen-storage alloys as alloys based on LaNi.sub.5 having a CaCu.sub.5 type crystal structure, alloys based on ZrNi.sub.2 having a Laves structure, alloys of the TiFe type, and alloys of the Mg.sub.2 Ni type have been mainly studied. A typical method for manufacturing an anode for an Ni-hydride secondary battery from such a hydrogen-storage alloy will be described above. First, the hydrogen-storage alloy is fused by means of high-frequency melting or arc melting and the melt is quenched and pulverized. The hydrogen-storage alloy powder thus obtained is kneaded with a conducting material and a binding agent and the resultant mix is applied or deposited fast on a collector. The anode using the hydrogen-storage alloy is consequently obtained.
The anode containing the hydrogen-storage alloy, when incorporated in a secondary battery, is fated to be immersed in a highly concentrated aqueous alkali solution serving as an electrolytic solution and also exposed to the oxygen emanating from an anode during the course of overcharge. The hydrogen-storage alloy of a crystalline texture, therefore, possibly has a serious problem of being det
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Inaba Takamichi
Sawa Takao
Takahashi Yumiko
Chaney Carol
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Nuzzolillo Maria
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