A novel method for the modification of zinc powder by ultrasonic impregnation in cerium nitrate solution.

This work is devoted to an extensive study of cerium deposits distributed directly on zinc particles by simple impregnation or ultrasonic impregnation for the modification of zinc powder. Meantime, the characterization of modified zinc powder and the influence of ultrasound parameters in the modification process upon the dendritic growth, the corrosion behavior and the cyclic performance of zinc are investigated using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion spectrometry, potentiostatic polarization, potentiodynamic polarization and cyclic voltammetry. Compared with simple impregnation, the assistance of ultrasonic irradiation is found to have a significant effect on the sedimentary state and favorable properties of cerium deposits in a protective way. Besides the cyclic voltammetry measurements display that the application of ultrasound also improves the cyclic performance of zinc electrode containing modified zinc powder mainly because the cerium deposits formed under ultrasonic irradiation can greatly hinder the dissolution and diffusion of the oxidation product of zinc in the electrolyte and effectively favor the capacity maintenance of zinc electrode.