Ti(III)を還元剤とする無電解めっき法によるNi発泡金属シートの連続作製  [in Japanese] Continuous Manufacturing of Ni Porous Sheet by Electroless Ni Plating Method Using Ti(III) Reductant  [in Japanese]

A titanium redox process was proposed as a novel nickel electroless plating method with zeroemission. In this process, the Ti(IV) formed during electroless nickel plating was electrolytically reduced to Ti(III), which was simultaneously recycled using a regeneration system as a reductant for the plating solution. As an industrial example of applying this technique, trial manufacturing of the nickel metal foam (Celmet®) was considered as a current collector for Ni-MH batteries was considered. Celmet® was currently being produced by the following procedure : conductive treatment of urethanfoam, nickel electroplating, and burning away urethane under a reducing atmosphere. Applying this novel technique for this conductive treatment, it was proved that the conductive treatment of urethane continuing beyond 100 hours was possible in the pilot plant scale operation. Furthermore, as a result of a charge-discharge test of the obtained Celmet® anode used in a Ni-MH battery, the cycle life of the Ni-MH battery obtained from this process was far longer than that in a battery obtained from the Ni electroless plating method using sodium hypophosphite.