Abstract
The present work deals with a Laves phase C14 AB2 alloy, namely (TiZr)(VNiMnCrSn)2. The alloy in many ways is a good alternative to a rare earth AB5 alloy with a superior capacity reaching a value of 400 mAh/g. A drawback with this alloy is that it is difficult to activate and therefore it is desirable to develop processing techniques which would readily activate the alloy. In this study we have plasma processed the alloy so as to see if this processing would exercise a positive effect on activation. AB2 powder was therefore fed to plasma torch with 25 kW power. The powders of -325 mesh had a range of particles sizes, the finer ones were evaporated and condensed into nanoparticles less than 100 nm in size. The larger ones spheroidized and were collected in the form of two groups of powders. We have characterized all three groups of powders both chemically and the latter two in terms of electrochemical performance.