Nickel cadmium battery

The nickel-cadmium battery (commonly abbreviated NiCd or NiCad) is a type of

rechargeable battery using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes.

The abbreviation NiCad is a registered trademark of SAFT Corporation, although this

brand name is commonly used to describe all nickel-cadmium batteries. The abbreviation
NiCd is derived from the chemical symbols of nickel (Ni) and cadmium (Cd).

There are two types of NiCd batteries: sealed and vented. This article mainly deals with
sealed cells.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Applications
 2 Voltage
 3 History
o 3.1 Production in the United States
o 3.2 Recent developments
o 3.3 Popularity
 4 Battery characteristics
o 4.1 Comparison to other batteries
 4.1.1 Advantages
 4.1.2 Disadvantages
o 4.2 Availability
 5 Characteristics
o 5.1 Charging
o 5.2 Inspecting
o 5.3 Charge condition
o 5.4 Charging method
 6 Electrochemistry
 7 Problems with NiCd
o 7.1 Overcharging
o 7.2 Cell reversal
o 7.3 Memory and lazy battery effects
o 7.4 Dendritic shorting
o 7.5 Environmental consequences of cadmium
o 7.6 Safety
 8 See also
 9 References
  10 External links

[edit] Applications
Sealed NiCd cells may be used individually, or assembled into battery packs containing
two or more cells. Small NiCd dry cells are used for portable electronics and toys, often
using cells manufactured in the same sizes as primary cells. When NiCds are substituted
for primary cells, the lower terminal voltage and smaller ampere-hour capacity may
reduce performance as compared to primary cells. Miniature button cells are sometimes
used in photographic equipment, hand-held lamps (flashlight or torch), computer-
memory standby, toys, and novelties.

Specialty NiCd batteries are used in cordless and wireless telephones, emergency
lighting, and other applications. With a relatively low internal resistance, a NiCd battery
can supply high surge currents. This makes them a favourable choice for remote-
controlled electric model airplanes, boats, and cars, as well as cordless power tools and
camera flash units. Larger flooded cells are used for aircraft starting batteries, electric
vehicles, and standby power.

[edit] Voltage
Nickel-cadmium cells have a nominal cell potential of 1.2 V. This is lower than the 1.5 V
of alkaline and zinc-carbon primary cells, and consequently they are not appropriate as a
replacement in all applications. However, the 1.5V of a primary alkaline cell refers to its
initial, rather than average, voltage. Unlike alkaline and zinc-carbon primary cells, a
NiCd cell's terminal voltage only changes a little as it discharges. Because many
electronic devices are designed to work with primary cells that may discharge to as low
as 0.90 to 1.0 V per cell, the relatively steady 1.2 V of a NiCd is enough to allow
operation. Some would consider the near-constant voltage a drawback as it makes it
difficult to detect when the battery charge is low.

NiCd batteries used to replace 9 V batteries usually only have six cells, for a terminal
voltage of 7.2 volts. While most pocket radios will operate satisfactorily at this voltage,
some manufacturers such as Varta made 8.4 volt batteries with seven cells for more
critical applications.

12 V NiCd batteries are made up of 10 cells connected in series.

[edit] History
The first NiCd battery was created by Waldemar Jungner of Sweden in 1899. At that
time, the only direct competitor was the lead-acid battery, which was less physically and
chemically robust. With minor improvements to the first prototypes, energy density
rapidly increased to about half of that of primary batteries, and significantly greater than
lead-acid batteries. Jungner experimented with substituting iron for the cadmium in
varying quantities, but found the iron formulations to be wanting. Jungner's work was
largely unknown in the United States. Thomas Edison adapted the battery design where
he introduced the nickel-iron battery to the US two years after Jungner had built one. In
1906, Jungner established a factory close to Oskarshamn, Sweden to produce flooded
design NiCd batteries.

[edit] Production in the United States

The first production in the United States began in 1946. Up to this point, the batteries
were "pocket type," constructed of nickel-plated steel pockets containing nickel and
cadmium active materials. Around the middle of the twentieth century, sintered-plate
NiCd batteries became increasingly popular. Fusing nickel powder at a temperature well
below its melting point using high pressures creates sintered plates. The plates thus
formed are highly porous, about 80 percent by volume. Positive and negative plates are
produced by soaking the nickel plates in nickel- and cadmium-active materials,
respectively. Sintered plates are usually much thinner than the pocket type, resulting in
greater surface area per volume and higher currents. In general, the greater amount of
reactive material surface area in a battery, the lower its internal resistance.

[edit] Recent developments

In the past few decades, NiCd batteries have had internal resistance as low as alkaline
batteries. Today, all consumer NiCd batteries use the "swiss roll" or "jelly-roll" design.
This design incorporates several layers of positive and negative material rolled into a
cylindrical shape. This design reduces internal resistance as there is a greater amount of
electrode in contact with the active material in each cell.

[edit] Popularity

Advances in battery-manufacturing technologies throughout the second half of the

twentieth century have made batteries increasingly cheaper to produce. Battery-powered
devices in general have increased in popularity. As of 2000, about 1.5 billion NiCd
batteries were produced annually.[2] Up until the mid 1990s, Ni-Cds had an overwhelming
majority of the market share for rechargeable batteries in consumer electronics.

[edit] Battery characteristics

[edit] Comparison to other batteries

Recently, nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) and lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion) have become
commercially available and cheaper, the former type now rivaling NiCd in cost. Where
energy density is important, Ni-Cd batteries are now at a disadvantage compared to Ni-
MH and Li-ion batteries. However, the Ni-Cd battery is still very useful in applications
requiring very high discharge rates because the Ni-Cd can endure such discharge with no
damage or loss of capacity, though recharging it without complete drain can have
somewhat of the opposite effect.

[edit] Advantages

When compared to other forms of rechargeable battery, the NiCd battery has a number of
distinct advantages.

 The batteries are more difficult to damage than other batteries, tolerating deep
discharge for long periods. In fact, NiCd batteries in long-term storage are
typically stored fully discharged. This is in contrast, for example, to lithium ion
batteries, which are less stable and will be permanently damaged if discharged
below a minimum voltage.

 NiCd batteries typically last longer, in terms of number of charge/discharge

cycles, than other rechargeable batteries such as lead/acid batteries.

 Compared to lead-acid batteries, NiCd batteries have a much higher energy

density. A NiCd battery is smaller and lighter than a comparable lead-acid battery.
In cases where size and weight are important considerations (for example,
aircraft), NiCd batteries are preferred over the cheaper lead-acid batteries.

 In consumer applications, NiCd batteries compete directly with alkaline batteries.

A NiCd cell has a lower capacity than that of an equivalent alkaline cell, and costs
more. However, since the alkaline battery's chemical reaction is not reversible, a
reusable NiCd battery has a significantly longer total lifetime. There have been
attempts to create rechargeable alkaline batteries, such as the rechargeable
alkaline, or specialized battery chargers for charging single-use alkaline batteries,
but none that has seen wide usage.

 The terminal voltage of a NiCd battery declines more slowly as it is discharged,

compared with carbon-zinc batteries. Since an alkaline battery's voltage drops
significantly as the charge drops, most consumer applications are well equipped to
deal with the slightly lower NiCd voltage with no noticeable loss of performance.

 Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are the newest, and most similar,
competitor to NiCd batteries. Compared to NiCd, NiMH batteries have a higher
capacity and are less toxic, and are now more cost effective. However, a NiCd
battery has a lower self-discharge rate (for example, 20% per month for a NiCd,
versus 30% per month for a traditional NiMH under identical conditions),
although low self-discharge NiMH batteries are now available, which have
substantially lower self-discharge than either NiCd or traditional NiMH. This
results in a preference for NiCd over NiMH in applications where the current
draw on the battery is lower than the battery's own self-discharge rate (for
example, television remote controls). In both types of cell, the self-discharge rate
is highest for a full charge state and drops off somewhat for lower charge states.
 Finally, a similarly sized NiCd battery has a slightly lower internal resistance, and
thus can achieve a higher maximum discharge rate (which can be important for
applications such as power tools).

[edit] Disadvantages

The primary trade-off with NiCd batteries is their higher cost and the use of cadmium.
They are more costly than lead-acid batteries because nickel and cadmium are more
costly materials.

One of the NiCd's biggest disadvantages is that the battery exhibits a very marked
negative temperature coefficient. This means that as the cell temperature rises, the
internal resistance falls. This can pose considerable charging problems, particularly with
the relatively simple charging systems employed for lead-acid type batteries. Whilst lead-
acid batteries can be charged by simply connecting a dynamo to them, with a simple
electromagnetic cut-out system for when the dynamo is stationary or an over-current
occurs, the NiCd under a similar charging scheme would exhibit thermal runaway, where
the charging current would continue to rise until the over-current cut-out operated or the
battery destroyed itself. This is the principal factor that prevents its use as engine-starting
batteries. Today with alternator-based charging systems with solid-state regulators, the
construction of a suitable charging system would be relatively simple, but the car
manufacturers are reluctant to abandon tried-and-tested technology.

[edit] Availability

NiCd cells are available in the same sizes as alkaline batteries, from AAA through D, as
well as several multi-cell sizes, including the equivalent of a 9 volt battery. A fully
charged single NiCd cell, under no load, carries a potential difference of between 1.25
and 1.35 volts, which stays relatively constant as the battery is discharged. Since an
alkaline battery near fully discharged may see its voltage drop to as low as 0.9 volts,
NiCd cells and alkaline cells are typically interchangeable for most applications.

In addition to single cells, batteries exist that contain up to 300 cells (nominally 360
volts, actual voltage under no load between 380 and 420 volts). This many cells are
mostly used in automotive and heavy-duty industrial applications. For portable
applications, the number of cells is normally below 18 cells (24V). Industrial-sized
flooded batteries are available with capacities ranging from 12.5Ah up to several hundred
Ah.

[edit] Characteristics
The maximum discharge rate for a NiCd battery varies by size. For a common AA-size
cell, the maximum discharge rate is approximately 18 amps; for a D size battery the
discharge rate can be as high as 35 amps.
Model-aircraft or -boat builders often take much larger currents of up to a hundred amps
or so from specially constructed small batteries, which are used to drive main motors. 5–6
minutes of model operation is easily achievable from quite small batteries, so a
reasonably high power-to-weight figure is achieved, comparable to internal combustion
motors, though of lesser duration.

The RazakSAT used NiCd.

[edit] Charging

NiCd batteries can be charged at several different rates, depending on how the cell was
manufactured. The charge rate is measured based on the percentage of the amp-hour
capacity the battery is fed as a steady current over the duration of the charge. Regardless
of the charge speed, more energy must be supplied to the battery than its actual capacity,
to account for energy loss during charging, with faster charges being more efficient. For
example, the typical overnight charge, called a C/10 (or 0.1C) charge, is accomplished by
applying 10% of the battery's total capacity for a period of 14–16 hours; that is, a
100 mAh battery takes 140 mAh of energy to charge at this rate. At the rapid-charge rate,
done at 100% of the rated capacity of the battery in 1 hour (1C), the battery holds roughly
80% of the charge, so a 100 mAh battery takes 120 mAh of energy to charge (that is,
approximately 1 hour and fifteen minutes). Some specialized NiCd cells are capable of
being charged in as little as 10–15 minutes at a 4C or 6C charge rate, but this is very
uncommon. It also exponentially increases the risk of the cells overheating and venting
due to an internal overpressure condition: the cell's rate of temperature rise is governed
by its internal resistance and the square of the charging rate. Thus, at a 4C rate, the
amount of power entering the cell is sixteen times higher than the power at the 1C rate.
The downside to faster charging is the higher risk of overcharging, which can damage the
battery.[3] and the increased temperatures the cell has to endure (which potentially
shortens its life).

The safe temperature range for a NiCd battery in use is between −20°C and 45°C. During
charging, the battery temperature typically stays low, around 0°C (the charging reaction
absorbs heat), but as the battery nears full charge the temperature will rise to 45–50°C.
Some battery chargers detect this temperature increase to cut off charging and prevent
over-charging.
When not under load or charge, a NiCd battery will self-discharge approximately 10%
per month at 20°C, ranging up to 20% per month at higher temperatures. It is possible to
perform a trickle charge at current levels just high enough to offset this discharge rate; to
keep a battery fully charged. However, if the battery is going to be stored unused for a
long period of time, it should be discharged down to at most 40% of capacity (some
manufacturers recommend fully discharging and even short-circuiting once fully
discharged), and stored in a cool, dry environment.

[edit] Inspecting

The battery should have no external damage, and depending on the number of cells it
should have 1.3 –1.4 V per cell when fully charged and about 0.8–1 V when discharged.

[edit] Charge condition

High quality NiCd’s have a thermal cut-off so if the battery gets too hot the charger stops.
If a NiCd is still warm from discharging and been put on charge, it will not get the full
charge possible. In that case, let the battery cool to room temperature, then charge. Watch
for the correct polarity. Leave charger in a cool place when charging to get best results.

[edit] Charging method

A NiCd battery requires a charger with a slightly different voltage than for a lead-acid
battery, especially if the NiCd has 11 or 12 cells. Also a charge termination method is
needed if a fast charger is used. Often NiCd battery packs have a thermal cut-off inside
that feeds back to the charger telling it to stop the charging once the battery has heated up
and/or a voltage peaking sensing circuit. At room temperature during normal charge
conditions the cell voltage increases from an initial 1.2 V to an end-point of about 1.45 V.
The rate of rise increases markedly as the cell approaches full charge. The end-point
voltage decreases slightly with increasing temperature.

[edit] Electrochemistry
A fully charged NiCd cell contains:

 a nickel(III) oxide-hydroxide positive electrode plate.

 a cadmium negative electrode plate.
 a separator.
 and an alkaline electrolyte (potassium hydroxide).

NiCd batteries usually have a metal case with a sealing plate equipped with a self-sealing
safety valve. The positive and negative electrode plates, isolated from each other by the
separator, are rolled in a spiral shape inside the case. This is known as the jelly-roll
design and allows a NiCd cell to deliver a much higher maximum current than an
equivalent size alkaline cell. Alkaline cells have a bobbin construction where the cell
casing is filled with electrolyte and contains a graphite rod which acts as the positive
electrode. As a relatively small area of the electrode is in contact with the electrolyte (as
opposed to the jelly-roll design), the internal resistance for an equivalent sized alkaline
cell is higher which limits the maximum current that can be delivered.

The chemical reactions in a NiCd battery during discharge are:

at the cadmium electrode, and

at the nickel electrode. The net reaction during discharge is

During recharge, the reactions go from right to left. The alkaline electrolyte (commonly
KOH) is not consumed in this reaction and therefore its Specific Gravity, unlike in lead-
acid batteries, is not a guide to its state of charge.

When Jungner built the first NiCd batteries, he used nickel oxide in the positive
electrode, and iron and cadmium materials in the negative. It was not until later that pure
cadmium metal and nickel hydroxide were used. Until about 1960, the reaction in nickel-
cadmium batteries was not completely understood. There were several speculations as to
the reaction products. The debate was finally resolved by spectrometry, which revealed
cadmium hydroxide and nickel hydroxide.

Another historically important variation on the basic nickel-cadmium cell is the addition
of lithium hydroxide to the potassium hydroxide electrolyte. This was believed to prolong
the service life by making the cell more resistant to electrical abuse. The nickel-cadmium
battery in its modern form is extremely resistant to electrical abuse anyway, so this
practice has been discontinued.

[edit] Problems with NiCd

[edit] Overcharging

Overcharging must be considered in the design of most rechargeable batteries. In the case
of NiCds, there are two possible results of overcharging:

 If the negative electrode is overcharged, hydrogen gas is produced.

 If the positive electrode is overcharged, oxygen gas is produced.
For this reason, the negative electrode is always designed for a higher capacity than the
positive, to avoid releasing hydrogen gas. There is still the problem of eliminating
oxygen gas, to avoid rupture of the cell casing. NiCd cells are vented, with seals that fail
at high internal gas pressures. The sealing mechanism must allow gas to escape from
inside the cell, and seal again properly when the gas is expelled. This complex
mechanism, unnecessary in alkaline batteries, contributes to their higher cost.

NiCd cells dealt with in this article are of the sealed type (see also vented type). Cells of
this type consist of a pressure vessel that is supposed to contain any generation of oxygen
and hydrogen gasses until they can recombine back to water. Such generation typically
occurs during rapid charge and discharge and exceedingly at overcharge condition. If the
pressure exceeds the limit of the safety valve, water in the form of gas is lost. Since the
vessel is designed to contain an exact amount of electrolyte this loss will rapidly affect
the capacity of the cell and its ability to receive and deliver current. To detect all
conditions of overcharge demands great sophistication from the charging circuit and a
cheap charger will eventually damage even the best quality cells.[4]

[edit] Cell reversal

Another potential problem is reverse charging. This can occur due to an error by the user,
or more commonly, when a battery of several cells is fully discharged. Because there is a
slight variation in the capacity of cells in a battery, one of the cells will usually be fully
discharged before the others, at which point reverse charging begins seriously damaging
that cell, reducing battery life. The by-product of reverse charging is hydrogen gas, which
can be dangerous. Some commentators[who?] advise that one should never discharge multi-
cell nickel-cadmium batteries to zero voltage; for example, incandescent lights should be
turned off when they are yellow; before they go out completely.

A common form of this deprecation occurs when cells connected in series develop
unequal voltages and discharge near zero voltage. The first cell that reaches zero is
pushed beyond to negative voltage and gases generated open the seal and dry the cell.

In modern cells, an excess of anti-polar material (basically active material ballast at

positive electrode) is inserted to allow for moderate negative charge without damage to
the cell. This excess material slows down the start of oxygen generation at the negative
plate. This means a cell can survive a negative voltage of about -0.2 to -0.4 volts.
However if discharge is continued even further, this excess ballast is used up and both
electrodes change polarity, causing destructive gassing (gas generation).

Battery packs with multiple cells in series should be operated well above 1 volt per cell to
avoid placing the lowest capacity cell in danger of going negative. Battery packs that can
be disassembled into cells should be periodically zeroed and charged individually to
equalize the voltages. However, this does not help if old and new cells are mixed, since
their different capacities will result in different discharge times and voltages.[4]

[edit] Memory and lazy battery effects

Main article: Memory effect

NiCd batteries may suffer from a "memory effect" if they are discharged and recharged to
the same state of charge hundreds of times. The apparent symptom is that the battery
"remembers" the point in its charge cycle where recharging began and during subsequent
use suffers a sudden drop in voltage at that point, as if the battery had been discharged.
The capacity of the battery is not actually reduced substantially. Some electronics
designed to be powered by NiCds are able to withstand this reduced voltage long enough
for the voltage to return to normal. However, if the device is unable to operate through
this period of decreased voltage, it will be unable to get enough energy out of the battery,
and for all practical purposes, the battery appears "dead" earlier than normal.

There is controversy about whether the memory effect actually exists, or whether it is as
serious a problem as is sometimes believed. Some critics[who?] claim it is used to promote
competing NiMH batteries, which apparently do not suffer from it. Many NiCd battery
manufacturers either deny the effect exists or are silent on the matter.

There is much evidence[who?] that the memory effect story originated from orbiting
satellites, where they were typically charging for twelve hours out of twenty-four for
several years.[5] After this time, it was found that the capacities of the batteries had
declined significantly, but were still perfectly fit for use. It is unlikely that this precise
repetitive charging (e.g., 1000 charges / discharges with less than 2% variability) could
ever be reproduced by consumers using electrical goods.

An effect with similar symptoms to the memory effect is the so-called voltage depression
or lazy battery effect. (Some people[who?] use this term as a synonym for "memory effect".)
This results from repeated overcharging; the symptom is that the battery appears to be
fully charged but discharges quickly after only a brief period of operation. Larger cells
may benefit from refilling with distilled water, or a complete electrolyte replacement. In
rare cases, much of the lost capacity can be recovered by a few deep-discharge cycles, a
function often provided by automatic NiCd battery chargers. However, this process may
reduce the shelf life of the battery.[6] If treated well, a NiCd battery can last for 1000
cycles or more before its capacity drops below half its original capacity.

[edit] Dendritic shorting

NiCd batteries, when not used regularly, tend to develop dendrites, which are thin,
conductive crystals that may penetrate the separator membrane between electrodes. This
leads to internal short circuits and premature failure, long before the 800–1000
charge/discharge cycle life claimed by most vendors. Sometimes, applying a brief, high-
current charging pulse to individual cells can clear these dendrites, but they will typically
reform within a few days or even hours. Cells in this state have reached the end of their
useful life and should be replaced. Many battery guides, circulating on the Internet and
online auctions, promise to restore dead cells using the above principle, but achieve very
short-term results at best.
[edit] Environmental consequences of cadmium

NiCd batteries contain between 6% (for industrial batteries) and 18% (for consumer
batteries) cadmium, which is a toxic heavy metal and therefore requires special care
during battery disposal. In the United States, part of the price of a NiCd battery is a fee
for its proper disposal at the end of its service lifetime. Under the so-called "batteries
directive" (2006/66/EC), the sale of consumer nickel-cadmium batteries has now been
banned within the European Union except for medical use; alarm systems; emergency
lighting; and portable power tools. This last category is to be reviewed after 4 years.
Under the same EU directive, used industrial nickel-cadmium batteries must be collected
by their producers in order to be recycled in dedicated facilities.

Cadmium, being a heavy metal, can cause substantial pollution when landfilled or
incinerated. Because of this, many countries now operate recycling programs to capture
and reprocess old NiCd batteries. However, it should be noted that the cadmium content
of industrial batteries (approx 6%) is considerably lower than the heavy metal content
which can be in excess of 60% in other technologies.

[edit] Safety

Manufacturers typically supply instructions for safe handling, use, and disposal of nickel-
cadmium batteries. These warn against physically damaging the cells, short-circuiting
when fully charged, and overcharging.[7]

[edit] See also

 Vented cell type NiCd batteries
 Nickel-iron battery
 Battery recycling
 Battery holder
 Nickel metal hydride battery
 Power-to-weight ratio

[edit] References
1. ^ Charging nickel-based batteries
2. ^ "Solucorp Unveils Pollution Preventing, Self-Remediating Ni-Cd Battery to
International Markets". Business Wire. 2006-10-19.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2006_Oct_19/ai_n27033828.
Retrieved 2008-08-01.
3. ^ NiCad Battery Charging Basics
4. ^ a b GP Nickel Cadmium Technical Handbook (Dead or broken link)
5. ^ Goodman, Marty (1997-10-13). "Lead-Acid or NiCd Batteries?". Articles about
Bicycle Commuting and Lighting. Harris Cyclery.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/marty_sla-nicad.html. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
 6. ^ Dan's Quick Guide to Memory Effect
7. ^ For example, Rayovac Safety Data Sheet Rayovac Safety Data Sheet

 Bergstrom, Sven. "Nickel-Cadmium Batteries – Pocket Type". Journal of the

Electrochemical Society, September 1952. 1952 The Electrochemical Society.
 Ellis, G. B., Mandel, H., and Linden, D. "Sintered Plate Nickel-Cadmium
Batteries". Journal of the Electrochemical Society, September 1952. 1952 The
Electrochemical Society.

[edit] External links

 BatteryUniversity.com
 Taking Batteries Green

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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel-cadmium_battery"
Categories: Rechargeable batteries | Nickel | Cadmium
Advantage of nicad over lead acid cell
THE NICKEL-CADMIUM CELL, commonly called the NICAD, has the following advantages over the
lead-acid cell; charges in a shorter period of time, delivers a larger amount of power, stays idle
longer, and can be charged and discharged many times. The anode is nickel hydroxide, the
cathode is cadmium hydroxide, and the electrolyte is potassium hydroxide and water

Construction of nickel-cadmium battery

A number of secondary, i.e. rechargeable, alkaline batteries or cells incorporate cadmium
as an active electrode material. The most important and best known of these is the nickel-
cadmium cell which is based on the reversible electrochemical reactions of cadmium and
nickel in a potassium hydroxide (alkaline) electrolyte. At the negative electrode (cathode)
the cadmium oxidises to cadmium hydroxide on discharge whilst the hydrated nickel
compounds at the positive electrode (anode) are reduced to nickel hydroxide, thus:

2Ni(OH)2+Cd(OH)2 <-- charge/discharge --> 2NiO OH + Cd + 2H20

The potassium hydroxide electrolyte takes no part in the charge-discharge reactions and
acts only as a charge carrier. Lithium hydroxide may be added to the electrolyte to
increase the life of the positive electrode. The reaction produces a nominal usable
electromotive force of 1.2 volts per cell.

A number of types of cell construction are possible. These variations in cell construction
lie mostly in the nature of electrode support utilised. For the positive electrode three
principal types are recognised - pocket plate, sintered plate and fibre plates. An electrode
support is necessary because the active material (nickel hydroxide) is usually in powder
form and held in pocket plates or mixed with gel or paste and placed in sintered or fibre
electrodes. Also, graphite or iron oxide needs to be added to improve the conductivity of
both nickel and cadmium hydroxide.

Negative electrode designs make use of an even broader range of materials including
pocket plates, sintered nickel powder, fibre, foam and plastic bonded supports. It is the
physical stability of the active material (cadmium hydroxide) in the negative electrode
that permits such a wide variety of support materials. Nickel hydroxide, however, swells
appreciably during charge and discharge, straining the support and restricting the choice
of support type at the positive electrode. In all cell construction types a separator is
placed between the two electrodes to prevent short circuits.

Nickel-cadmium batteries are characterised by their resistance to electrical abuse, high

cycle lives, reliability and versatility and have found a wide range of application. The
several types of cell construction are manufactured in a wide range of size, capacity and
shape and the choice of a particular battery will depend upon the application and its
current load requirements.
These applications are principally of two types industrial and portable batteries.

(a) Industrial nickel-cadmium batteries

Nickel-cadmium batteries for industrial uses are of the vented (or open) or semi-sealed
type and may be of pocket plate, sintered plate or fibre structured construction.
Applications for industrial batteries include railway uses such as locomotive starting,
emergency braking, coach lighting and air conditioning, trackside power for signalling
and warning lights and others. Other uses include standby power for alarm systems,
emergency lighting, military communications, solar energy storage, navigation
equipment, military equipment, hospital operating theatres and many others. Semi-sealed
industrial batteries are used in aeronautical applications where they are used to start
engines and also to provide stand-by power for aircraft systems when the principal power
source fails. After long periods of operation most vented or semi-sealed cells may require
electrolyte maintenance by topping up with distilled water.

(b) Portable nickel-cadmium batteries

Nickel-cadmium batteries for portable use are of the sealed type and are generally of
sintered plate construction. They may be of cylindrical , button or prismatic design.
Sealed nickel-cadmium batteries are in strong demand for use in consumer electronic
equipment such as cellular telephones, portable tools, toys, camcorders and other
domestic cordless appliances. They are also used for memory back-up in computing
equipment, military and civil communications, emergency lighting and many other
similar applications. Sealed cells require no maintenance and may be recharged up to
2000 times.