EP0402738A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Nickel foam
Assignee: Vale Canada Ltd
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Filing: 1990-06-05
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-06-05
Abstract
Abstract The invention provides a nickel foam and a method of forming a nickel foam for a nickel containing battery. An open-cell foam structure is placed in a nickel carbonyl gas containing structure. The foam structure is heated to a temperature at which nickel carbonyl decomposes. Nickel from the nickel carbonyl gas decomposes on the foam structure to form a nickel plated foam structure. The nickel plated foam structure is then sintered leaving an open-cell nickel network to form the nickel foam. The open-cells of the nickel foam comprise substantially hollow nickel wires having a substantially uniform transverse cross-section. The nickel foam is further characterized by the conductivity through the nickel foam multiplied by a factor of 3.4 being equal to or greater than the theoretical conductivity of nickel.
Inventors
- 👤 Juraj Babjak
- 👤 Victor Alexander Ettel
- 👤 Vladimir Paserin
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 06:43
CPC Classifications
C; C22; C22B; C22B23/00; B; B01; B01D; B01D39/00; B01D39/14; B01D39/20; B01D39/2027; B01D39/2051; B22; B22F; B22F3/00; B22F3/10; B22F3/11; B22F3/1121; B22F3/1137; C22B5/00; C22B5/02; C22B5/20; C23; C23C; C23C16/00; C23C16/06; C23C16/16; H; H01; H01M; H01M4/00; H01M4/02; H01M4/64; H01M4/70; H01M4/80; H01M4/808; B22F2998/00; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E60/00; Y02E60/10; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/12; Y10T428/12479; Y10T428/12486
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
84 words
A method of forming a nickel foam comprising: heating an open-cell thermally decomposable foam structure in an atmosphere containing nickel carbonyl gas to a temperature at which said nickel carbonyl gas decomposes, whereby nickel is decomposed from said nickel carbonyl gas on said foam structure to form a nickel-plated foam structure, and sintering said nickel-plated foam structure to thermally decompose and remove said foam structure from said nickel-plated foam structure leaving an open-cell nickel network of interconnected nickel wires to form said nickel foam.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
84 words
A method of forming a nickel foam comprising: heating an open-cell thermally decomposable foam structure in an atmosphere containing nickel carbonyl gas to a temperature at which said nickel carbonyl gas decomposes, whereby nickel is decomposed from said nickel carbonyl gas on said foam structure to form a nickel-plated foam structure, and sintering said nickel-plated foam structure to thermally decompose and remove said foam structure from said nickel-plated foam structure leaving an open-cell nickel network of interconnected nickel wires to form said nickel foam.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method according to claim 1 additionally including the step of annealing said nickel foam to improve mechanical properties of said nickel foam.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said open-cell foam structure is composed of polystyrene, polyvinylchloride, polyethylene, a polyisocyanurate, a polyphenol or polypropylene.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said open-cell foam structure is of polyurethane.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
24 words
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said heating of said open-cell foam structure comprises irradiating said open-cell foam structure with infrared radiation.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method according to claim 5 wherein said open-cell foam structure is coated with a material which absorbs a band of infrared radiation that nickel carbonyl and carbon monoxide gases absorb inefficiently and said coated open-cell foam structure is heated by irradiating with said band of infrared radiation that said nickel carbonyl and carbon monoxide gases absorb inefficiently.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method according to claim 6 wherein said open-cell foam structure is coated with carbon black.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
35 words
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said nickel carbonyl gas-containing atmosphere contains, by volume, from about 20 to about 90 percent nickel carbonyl and from about 10 to about 80 percent carbon monoxide.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
22 words
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said open-cell foam structure comprises elongated cells to increase conductivity in a desired direction.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
15 words
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said nickel foam comprises a battery plaque.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
66 words
A nickel foam structure comprising a reticulated nickel network formed substantially of interconnecting open-cells, said open-cells being comprised of substantially hollow nickel wires having a substantially uniform transverse cross-section and having electrical conductivity through said nickel foam structure such that the actual conductivity across said nickel foam structure multiplied by a factor of 3.4 is about equal to or greater than the theoretical conductivity of nickel.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
66 words
A nickel foam structure comprising a reticulated nickel network formed substantially of interconnecting open-cells, said open-cells being comprised of substantially hollow nickel wires having a substantially uniform transverse cross-section and having electrical conductivity through said nickel foam structure such that the actual conductivity across said nickel foam structure multiplied by a factor of 3.4 is about equal to or greater than the theoretical conductivity of nickel.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
A structure according to claim 11 wherein said reticulated nickel network structure is at least 95 percent porous.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
23 words
A structure according to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein the average distance across said open-cells is between 400 µm and 20 µm.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
A structure according to claim 13 wherein the average distance across said open-cells is between 100 µm and 60 µm.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
51 words
A structure according to any one of claims 11 to 14 wherein the ultimate tensile strength of said structure is such that the actual ultimate tensile strength of said nickel foam corrected for porosity and multiplied by a factor of 5 is about equal to or greater than 317 mega pascals.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
A structure according to any one of claims 11 to 15 wherein said nickel foam is filled with a paste containing nickel hydroxide particles.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
20 words
The use of a nickel foam structure according to any one of claims 11 to 16 as a battery plaque.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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