Raw materials in battery technology: Nickel (Glossary)

Nickel is a silvery-white, very bright and tenacious metal from the iron group that is easy to roll, forge, draw, weld and polish. Like iron, it is a ferromagnetic metal, in other words it can be magnetised. It is resistant to air, water and salts, but is easily attacked by acids.

Nickel is found in an elementary form in meteorites, on earth only in a bound form. It accounts for 0.08% of the earth's crust, a share of approx. 8% is assumed in the earth's core, roughly corresponding to the nickel share of iron meteorites. Nickel is extracted, for example, from nickeline (NiAs), skutterudite (chloanthite), garnierite and magnetic pyrite. The most important manufacturing countries are Canada, the CIS states and Australia.

Nickel is used in hardening and corrosion-inhibiting steel refinement (nickel steels, chrome-nickel steels), as a hardening, corrosion-inhibiting or bleaching alloying metal (e.g. coin alloys, nickel silver) and as a pure metal for galvanic nickel-plating or for catalysts and special instruments (medical and laboratory technology).

Nickel is a contact allergen (nickel allergy) and thus should not be permanently in contact with skin. This area is covered by the so-called commodities ordinance.

Nickel is mainly used in battery technology as a material for cathodes. Since the development of the nickel-cadmium accumulator around 1899 by Waldemar Jungner it has proven its value in various types of accumulator (e.g. various nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride types). Nickel(III)oxide hydrate is essentially reduced to Nickel(II)hydroxide . Sine nickel electrodes in practise have a rather unsatisfactory electrical conductivity, the nickel is usually used as a nickel sponge applied to a good conductive matrix.

Some key technical data

Chemical symbol: Ni

Atomic number: 28

Relative atomic mass: 58.70

Oxidation numbers: +2,

Density: 8.90 g/cm³

Melting point: 1,454°C

Boiling point: 2,913°C

Specific electrical resistance: 7

	See also:
		Glossary overview Nickel-cadmium accumulators (Glossary) Nickel-metal hydride accus (Glossary) Nickel price (day chart)

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