Claims
- 1. Nickel hydroxide material particles with a microstructure comprising crystallites of less than 103 Å as measured in the 101 direction by x-ray diffraction.
- 2. The nickel hydroxide material of claim 1, wherein the crystallites are 50 to 103 Å.
- 3. The nickel hydroxide material of claim 1, wherein the crystallites are 50 to 100 Å.
- 4. The nickel hydroxide material of claim 1, wherein the crystallites are 60 to 100 Å.
- 5. The nickel hydroxide material of claim 1 wherein the crystallites have a strained lattice.
- 6. The nickel hydroxide material of claim 1 wherein the nickel hydroxide material is substantially spherical modified, nickel hydroxide particles.
- 7. The nickel hydroxide material of claim 1 wherein the metal composition of the nickel hydroxide is selected from the group consisting of Ni—Co; Ni—Co—Zn; Ni—Co—Zn—Mg—Ca; Ni—Co—Zn—Mn—Mg—Ca; Ni—Co—Zn—Mg—Ca—Cu—Mn.
- 8. The positive electrode material of claim 1, wherein said nickel hydroxide material has at least three modifiers selected from the group consisting of Al, Bi, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, In, La, rare earth elements, Mg, Mn, Ru, Sb, Sn, Ti, Ba, Si, Sr and Zn.
- 9. The nickel hydroxide material of claim 1 wherein the FWHM of the 101 peak is from 0.75 to 1 as measured in degrees by XRD with CuKa radiation, diffrational beam curved graphic monochromator, (1) degree divergent, (1) degree scattering, (0.2) mm receiving slits in theta/2 theta geometry.
- 10. A method of making positive electrode material for use in an alkaline rechargeable electrochemical cell comprising forming a metal ion solution and increasing the pH to precipitate positive electrode material with a crystallite structure of 120 Å or less in the 101 direction.
- 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the metal ion solution is formed by
combining a metal ion solution with nickel, NH4OH, and NaOH in a reactor at a pH, agitating the combination, and increasing the pH to precipitate positive electrode material with a crystallite structure of 120 Å or less in the 101 direction.
- 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the beginning pH is 8-12.
- 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the metal ion solution includes at least two modifiers selected from the group consisting of of Al, Bi, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, In, La, rare earth elements, Mg, Mn, Ru, Sb, Sn, Ti, Ba, Si, Sr and Zn.
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present invention relates to, and is entitled to the benefit of the earlier filing date and priority of: co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/686,567, entitled “A Nickel Hydroxide Positive Electrode Material Exhibiting Improved Conductivity and Engineered Activation Energy”, by Fierro et al., filed Oct. 11, 2000, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/135,477, entitled “A Nickel Hydroxide Positive Electrode Material Exhibiting Improved Conductivity and Engineered Activation Energy”, by Fierro et al., filed Aug. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,535; and to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/661,000, entitled Method of Making Nickel Hydroxide Material, filed Sep. 13, 2000, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Divisions (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09686567 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Child |
10232031 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09135477 |
Aug 1998 |
US |
Child |
09686567 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Parent |
09661000 |
Sep 2000 |
US |
Child |
09686567 |
Oct 2000 |
US |