Nickel Foam
Nickel Foam (Ni Foam) | High-Porosity Open-Cell Nickel Foam for Batteries, Filters & Catalysts
Nickel foam is an open-cell metallic foam made from high-purity nickel that forms a continuous three-dimensional network of interconnected ligaments and voids. Its unique morphology combines very high porosity (often 90%+), good electrical and thermal conductivity, mechanical resilience and chemical stability — properties that make Ni foam a preferred substrate in energy storage, electrochemical systems, catalysis and engineered filtration/demisting systems.
Advantages of Nickel Foam
- Porosity & open-cell structure: Porosity commonly >90% gives low bulk density and high gas/liquid permeability — excellent for flow-through electrodes, demisters and heat exchangers.
- Electrical & thermal conductivity: Continuous nickel ligaments provide low electrical resistance, making Ni foam ideal as current collectors, battery/fuel-cell supports or heater substrates.
- Surface area & 3D support: High specific surface area supports catalyst deposition, electroplating and high-rate reactions (e.g., metal hydride absorption, electrodeposition).
- Mechanical resilience: Despite high porosity, designed ligament thickness provides compressive and tensile strength adequate for cell handling, stacking and mechanical assembly; mechanical properties are adjustable through pore geometry and heat treatment.
- Chemical stability: Nickel’s corrosion resistance (particularly when alloyed or coated) suits alkaline electrolytes, many gas environments and catalytic processes; for aggressive chemistries or chloride-rich streams additional coatings or alloying strategies are used.
Specification of Nickel Foam
- Base material: Pure nickel or nickel-based alloys (purity and alloying tailored to application).
- Porosity: ~85% – 98% (open-cell).
- Pore size (cells per inch / µm): Commonly offered as large-cell (200–1000+ µm) and fine-cell (50–300 µm) variants.
- Thickness: From thin sheets (~0.25–1 mm) to blocks several centimeters thick — custom slitting and laminating available.
- Density (bulk): Low, typically <1 g/cm³ depending on porosity.
- Formats: Sheets, discs, gaskets, blocks, laser-cut parts, pleatable media, and cartridges.
Applications of Nickel Foam
- Battery & Supercapacitor Current Collectors
Ni foam serves as a lightweight, highly conductive 3D current collector for nickel-based batteries, lithium battery electrode frameworks (as coated substrates), and supercapacitors — allowing thick electrodes with short electron paths and improved rate capability. - Fuel Cells & Electrolyzers
As gas diffusion layers (GDLs), porous flow-field inserts or bipolar plate supports, Ni foam enables efficient gas/liquid management and provides corrosion resistance in alkaline electrolytes. Coated/platinized nickel foam can act as catalyst support in electrolyzers. - Catalyst Support & Chemical Reactors
The high surface area and open porosity make Ni foam an excellent scaffold for catalyst deposition (e.g., precious metals) used in hydrogenation, reforming or emission control. Its 3D channels support uniform reactant distribution. - Demisting, Mist Elimination & Coalescing Pads
In vapor/liquid separation, nickel foam captures droplets while presenting low flow resistance — suitable in corrosive or high-temperature demisting where polymer demisters fail. - Heat Exchangers & Thermal Management
Open-cell foams enhance convective heat transfer per unit volume and are used in compact heat exchanger cores, heater elements or thermal buffer systems. - Filtration & Flow Control in Harsh Environments
Ni foam can be a pre-filter, support for finer media, or a standalone coarse filter in high-temperature/chemical service where polymer foams cannot be used.
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