Performance of porous electrodes in batteries and other electrochemical cells is greatly improved when supports for active material have pores of uniform size, extending completely through electrodes, from side to side, with no interconnections between pores

Mccallum, J.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

CApril 1974	 B73-10515 
NASA TECH BRIEF 
.	 4? Goddard Space Flight Center 
NASA Tech Briefs announce new technology derived from the U.S. space program. They are issued to encourage 
commercial application. Tech Briefs are available on a subscription basis from the National Technical Information 
Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151. Requests for individual copies or questions relating to the Tech Brief program may 
be directed to the Technology Utilization Office, NASA, Code KT, Washington, D.C. 20546. 
Corrugated Battery Electrode 
S
The problem: 
In conventional sintered nickel plaques used as 
supports in nickel cadmium and nickel zinc batteries, the 
pores are not uniform in size or in shape and are 
interconnected randomly. Because of this randomness, 
the active material used in battery electrodes made from 
such supports cannot be coated uniformly throughout. 
Thus, such electrodes are rather inefficient and can 
terminate the service life of batteries prematurely. 
The solution: 
The performance of porous electrodes in batteries 
and other electrochemical cells is greatly improved when 
the supports for the active material have pores of 
uniform size, extending completely through the elec-
trodes, from side to side, with no interconnections 
between the pores. 
How it's done: 
A typical electrode (see figure) comprises a porous 
conductive support. The support is a bonded stack of 
Electrode Construction
pieces of thin corrugated nickel foil, with the corru-
gations oriented perpendicularly to the sides of the 
electrode to form an array of passages through the 
electrode. An active material is distributed uniformly 
within the passages. The support also comprises pieces 
of thin flat metal foil between adjacent pieces of the 
corrugated foil, with each piece of the flat metal foil 
forming a barrier between the passages formed on each 
side of it. The adjacent pieces of foil are bonded at all 
contiguous points, so that each passage is isolated from 
every other passage. 
The corrugations in the alternate layers are oriented 
approximately in the same direction. The corrugations 
in the odd corrugated layers are oriented at a small 
angle from the perpendicular in one direction, and the 
corrugations in the even corrugated layers are oriented 
at a small angle from the perpendicular in the opposite 
direction. 
The electrode is rechargeable where the support is 
made of inert conductive material. Typically, the inert 
material consists of nickel and the active material 
consists of cadmium hydroxide or nickel hydroxide. 
The corrugated foil is about 0.3 to 1 mil (0.008 to 
0.03 mm) thick, and the flat foil is about 0.2 to 1 mil 
(0.005 to 0.03 mm) thick. The corrugations are tri-
angular in cross section, with each corrugation about 
2 to 6 mils (0.05 to 0.15 mm) high and 2 to 10 mils 
(0.05 to 0.25 mm) wide; the height of each corru-
gation is at least about one-half its width. The density 
of the support is less than 25 percent, and the density 
of the electrode is less than about 55 percent. 
(continued overleaf) 
This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National
	 Government assumes any liability resulting from the use of the 
Aeronautics and Space Administration. Neither the United States
	 information contained in this document, or warrants that such use 
Government nor any person acting on behalf of the United States
	 will be free from privately owned rights.
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Notes 
1. Additional documentation is contained in Tech Brief 
B73-10519. 
2. Requests for further information may be directed to: 
Technology Utilization Officer 
Goddard Space Flight Center 
Code 207.1 
Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 
Reference: TSP73-105 15
Patent status: 
This invention has been patented by NASA (U.S. 
Patent No. 3,759,746). Inquiries concerning nonex-
clusive or exclusive license for its commercial develop-
ment should be addressed to: 
Patent Counsel 
Goddard Space Flight Center 
Code 204 
Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 
Source: John McCallum of

Battelle Memorial Institute 
under contract to 
Goddard Space Flight Center

(GSC-1 1368)
. 
fl 
B73-10515	 Category 01,08


Corrugated battery electrode

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