Armin Olbrich

Structural study of β-Ni(OH)2 and α-Ni(OH)2 variants for electrode applications

Abstract Powder samples of β-Ni(OH)2 and doped variants of the α-Ni(OH)2 structure type were prepared by a coprecipitation method. Chemical composition was analysed by ICP. Samples were measured by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Single peak profiles were analysed by fitting a splitted Pearson VII funktion to the measured patterns. Peak profile data were collected and a strong anisotropic peak broadening was observed. Structure models of possible stacking orders in β-Ni(OH)2 and doped α-Ni(OH)2 were developed. DIFFaX simulations of structure models with statistical stacking orders were carried out. The simulated peak profiles were compared to the measured ones and a fairly good agreement was found. A semiquantitative analysis of the stacking faults in these materials is shown.