Nickel foam substrate for nickel metal hydride electrodes and lightweight honeycomb structures

The feasibility of using nickel foam as a substrate for both the positive and negative electrodes in a metal hydride battery has been investigated in order to assess the possibility of incorporating the electrodes into a lightweight honeycomb structure (U.S. Patent 5,567,544, Boundless Corp.) [1]. For the negative electrode, a slurry consisting of hydriding alloy mixed with nickel powder was pasted and then sintered onto nickel foam substrates. For the positive electrode, NiOH and CoOh was electrochemically impregnated by using the Pickett method. Electrochemical and structural characterization indicate that it is feasible to make a battery which can provide electrical energy and be incorporated into a robust lightweight honeycomb structure.