Influence of Ce and Nd contents of Ml(NiCoMnAl)5 alloy on the performances of Ni–MH batteries

Abstract The influence of the Ce and Nd contents of Ml(NiCoMnAl) 5 alloy on the performances of Ni–MH batteries was studied. It was found that the high rate dischargeability increased with increase of the Ce content and decrease of the Nd content, while charge retention decreased. An increase in the Ce and Nd contents improved the Ni–MH battery cycle life, and increase of the Nd content increased the discharge capacity of the MH electrode. XRD and PCI analysis showed that heat treatment made the chemical composition of the hydrogen storage alloy more homogeneous with lower lattice strain, and the hydrogen desorption plateau was smooth, which obviously improved the Ni–MH battery cycle life.