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.