High temperature electrochemical discharge performance of LaFeO3 coated with C/Ni as anode material for NiMH batteries

Perovskite LaFeO3 is considered as a promising new anode material for nickel/metal hydride batteries due to its low cost, environmental friendliness and high temperature resistance. However, the poor conductivity of LaFeO3 material restricts the discharge ability, which is problematic for its future widespread application. To solve the above issue, in this study, we prepared C/Ni-coated LaFeO3 composite in view of the excellent electrical conductivity of carbon and nickel metal. Results show that the C/Ni-coated LaFeO3 composite delivers remarkably increased discharge capacity of ∼345 mAh g−1 at 60 ​°C in contrast to ∼267 mAh g−1 for pure LaFeO3. Furthermore, the carbon and nickel not only increase the electrical conductivity of the LaFeO3 but also reduces the agglomeration of the LaFeO3, therefore, the C/Ni-coated LaFeO3 composite serves superior long cycle-life, which maintains 60.9% after 100 cycles (52.9% for the LaFeO3 sample). In overall, the electrochemical behavior of the C/Ni-coated LaFeO3 composite confirms its high potential as nickel/metal hydride batteries for energy storage applications.