Preparation and Performance of Zinc Oxide Used in the Batteries

The active material of secondary zinc electrode (zinc oxide) was synthesized by the complexation-precitation method, and characterized by XRD, SEM and BET. The electrochemical activity of the product was determined by the charge-discharge method. The effects of some important preparative conditions such as the pH value of reaction solution and the content of aqueous ammonia in the tank on the performance of the product were studied by experimental investigation and theoretical analysis. The SEM photographs and BET data show that the samples consist of the aggregates of many tiny crystals and have larger specific surface area, therefore, their electrochemical capacities are higher. The zinc oxide sample obtained under the optimum preparative conditions possesses a tapping density higher than 1.70g.cm-3 and an electrochemical discharge capacity higher than 420mAh.g-1.