Sciencemadness Discussion Board - unknown chemicals from an NiMH battery

unknown chemicals from an NiMH battery

symboom - 8-2-2016 at 22:47

So extracted a NiMH battery the componets ive found was a compresed black powder not sure if im right but I think it is nickel hydroxide that has small amount of potassium hydroxide I know this because of the slippy feeling from it when I washed my hands off the metal that as I read is an alloy not sure of what but supposedly this metal can absorb hydrogen gas

symboom - 8-2-2016 at 22:52

Thourgh inspection washing with vinagar the matereal was not a compressed black powder but a spongy metalic metal both pieces are magnetic and the black powder is coating the spongy metal black powder desolves in HCl acid green solution forms bubbling evolves im guessing chlorine gas is being formed

[Edited on 9-2-2016 by symboom]

j_sum1 - 8-2-2016 at 23:24

Forgive me if I have overlooked something here but your battery dissection looks remarkably similar to the picture in Wikipedia. Unless you have good reason to suspect others=wise, i would assume that all of the components are the same as the ones in the wikipedia article.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel%E2%80%93metal_hydride_b...

symboom - 9-2-2016 at 00:40

Yes absolutly the same which was very helpful in knowing the black powder was nickel oxyhydroxide and I find that it seems to be an oxidizer like Manganese dioxide just as it forms Chlorine gas with HCl acid not like copper hydroxide which can not oxidize the acid though it leaves me guessing about the metals contained example the spongy metal and the metal backing both do not desolve in HCl acid only speculation on wikipedia

Although the acid does desolve the powder well an improvment would be to use ammonia for a complex that way I wouldn't have to deal with the chlorine gas and to spare the precious acid

[Edited on 9-2-2016 by symboom]

Oscilllator - 9-2-2016 at 01:38

Symboom it isn't necessarily the case that it is chlorine gas. Chlorine has a distinct smell even at low concentrations, so you probably would have smelt it if it was there. I have personally tried to dissolve Nickel batteries with various acids, and I don't remember smelling chlorine.
Perhaps the gas is hydrogen?

symboom - 9-2-2016 at 02:05

Quote: Originally posted by Oscilllator

Symboom it isn't necessarily the case that it is chlorine gas. Chlorine has a distinct smell even at low concentrations, so you probably would have smelt it if it was there. I have personally tried to dissolve Nickel batteries with various acids, and I don't remember smelling chlorine.
Perhaps the gas is hydrogen?

interesting it out gassed alot it smelt like chlorine. Also I did not desolve the casing of the battery only the insides hoping to desolve the metals along with the nickel oxyhydroxide

Very curious to understand what other metal than Palladium that can absorb hydrogen gas as mentioned in how NiMH batteries work