LaNi₅₋ₓMₓ Alloys for Ni/Metal Hydride Electrochemical Cells

Studies of physical and chemical effects in the hydride-forming electrodes of rechargeable nickel/metal hydride electrochemical cells have yielded results that now guide efforts to formulate improved electrode alloys to extend the cycle lives of the cells. These efforts involve finding appropriate ternary solutes and amounts of those solutes to alloy with the original hydride-forming binary alloy LaNi5 to form alloys of general composition LaNi5–xMx. Here, M denotes any suitable element or alloy that forms a strong bond with lanthanum, as explained below.