All solid-state nickel/metal hydride battery with a proton-conductive phosphoric acid-doped silica gel electrolyte

All solid-state nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) battery was fabricated by using a proton-conductive phosphoric acid-doped silica gel as an electrolyte. The H3PO4-doped silica gel was dried in vacuum at various temperatures for 1 h before fabricating the battery in order to reduce the possibility of corrosion by water on the surface and in the micropores of the gel. The influence of drying temperature on the crystallinity, water content and conductivity of the gel was investigated. The conductivity depended on the drying temperature of the gel. The fabricated all solid-state Ni/MH battery was able to operate several tens of charge–discharge cycles at relatively high current density although the utilization of the battery was low. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]