Abstract:
A hydrogen battery alloy is prepared which is substantially free of inclusions of chromium by preparing a first precursor alloy or master alloy containing vanadium, nickel, and chromium using relatively equal amounts of vanadium and nickel and then adding from 5% to 12% by weight of chromium. The alloy materials are introduced into an aluminothermic reaction as vanadium pentoxide, nickel powder and chromium powder with the aluminum metal being in slight excess of its stoichiometric amount. The first precursor alloy described further alloyed with preselected amounts of nickel, zirconium, titanium, cobalt, manganese, aluminum, and chromium to form an alloy suitable for use as an electrode material in rechargeable electrochemical hydrogen storage cells.