Electrochemical properties of Ti45Zr38-xNi17+x (0 <= x <= 8) quasicrystals produced by rapid-quenching

Discharge performances of Ti45Zr38?xNi17+x (0≤x≤8) ribbons produced by rapid-quenching were measured by a three-electrode cell at room temperature, and the effect of substitution of Ni for Zr was investigated. All the ribbons after rapid-quenching were mostly the icosahedral (i) quasicrystal phase with a negligible amount of C14 Laves phase (hcp). The discharge capacity increased with increasing amount of Ni substituted for Zr. The maximum discharge capacity achieved was about 90mAh/g from (Ti45Zr30Ni25) ribbon after substitution of Ni for Zr. The discharge performance was almost stable against the charge/discharge cycle (until 15 cycles) for all the ribbons, and the i-phase structure was also stable even after the 15th charge/discharge cycle. No metal hydride formation was observed.This research was partially supported by the European Commission (project Dev-BIOSOFC, FP6-042436, MTKD-CT-2006-042436)