Nanometer Cu singly doped and Cu/Al co-doped nickel hydroxides were synthesized by ultrasonic-assisted precipitation method. Their crystal structure, particle size, morphology, tap density and electrochemical performance were investigated. The results show that the samples have a-phase structure with narrow particle size distribution. Cu singly doped nano-Ni（OH）2 contains irregular particles, while Cu/Al co-doped nano-Ni（OH）2 displays a quasi-spherical shape and has a relatively higher tap density. Composite electrodes were prepared by mixing 8% （mass fraction） nanometer samples with commercial micro-size spherical nickel. The charge/discharge test and cyclic voltammetry results indicate that the electrochemical performance of Cu/Al co-doped nano-Ni（OH）2 is better than that of Cu singly doped nano-Ni（OH）2, the former＇s discharge capacity reaches 330 mA.h/g at 0.2C, 12 mA.h/g and 91 mA.h/g larger than that of Cu singly doped sample and pure spherical nickel electrode, respectively. Moreover, the proton diffusion coefficient of Cu/Al co-doped sample is 52.3% larger than that of Cu singly doped sample.
Al/Co co-doped α-Ni（OH）2 samples were prepared by either ultrasonic co-precipitation method （Sample B） or co-precipitation method （Sample A）. The crystal structure and particle size distribution of the prepared samples were examined by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and laser particle size analyzer, respectively. The results show that Sample B has more crystalline defects and smaller average diameter than Sample A. The cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements indicate that Sample B has better electrochemical performance than Sample A, such as better reaction reversibility, lower charge-transfer resistance and better cyclic stability. Proton diffusion coefficient of Sample B is 1.96×10-10cm2/s, which is two times as large as that （9.78×10-11cm2/s） of Sample A. The charge-discharge tests show that the discharge capacity （308 mA·h/g） of Sample B is 25 mA·h/g higher than that of Sample A （283 mA·h/g）.
