Electrochemical properties of a low molecular weight gel electrolyte for nickel/metal hydride cell

•2,4-(m-methyl-benzylidene)-D-sorbitol is first used as a gelator.•Ni/MH cell is assembled with the low molecular weight gel electrolyte.•In the charge process, the Ni/MH with gel electrolyte exhibits a small deflection.

A low molecular weight gel electrolyte was formed by the self-assembly of a low molecular weight gelator in aqueous solution electrolyte and used in a Ni/MH cell. When the temperature was below 348 K, the low molecular weight gel electrolyte was used as a solid. The high ionic conductivity (1.51 × 10−2 S cm−1) and a stable electro- chemical window of the gel electrolyte were confirmed at 303 K. A Ni/MH cell was fabricated with the low molecular weight gel electrolyte, and its charge-discharge and capacity retention characteristics were measured. The deflection of the cell with gel electrolyte was smaller than that of the cell with aqueous solution electrolyte. Therefore, the gel electrolyte had good electrochemical properties while solving the problem of solution leakage.