Cathodic Reduction Mechanism of MnOOH to Mn(OH)[sub 2] in Alkaline Electrolyte

The cathodic reduction process of , which is produced from or by electrochemical reduction, was studied in with various particle sizes of the original and various depths of discharge. The polarization of produced from electrolytic is small, less than 60 mv, until a certain current density is reached. Above the current density, a limiting current is reached and polarization increases sharply. There are two possible reduction mechanisms for the process from to , i.e. : (i) reduction through Mn(III) ion dissolved in the electrolyte, and (ii) reduction of directly to in solid state. It was concluded that most of the discharge current is attributed to the dissolved ion mechanism.