Anodic electrodes with the mixture of hydrogen storage alloys and different contents of Co3O4（2%,4%,6% and 8%,mass fraction） powders were made.The effects of Co3O4 on the electrochemical performance of the alloy electrodes were studied.The constant charge-discharge tests show that the discharge capacity of alloy electrodes with Co3O4 significantly increases,and the maximum discharge capacities of electrodes with 2%,4%,6% and 8% Co3O4 are higher than the electrode with no Co3O4 by 0.83%,4.86%,7.18% and 9.21%,accordingly.Linear polarization（LP） and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy（EIS） tests suggest that charge-transfer resistance decreases by the addition of Co3O4.Cyclic voltammogram（CV）,scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and energy dispersive spectrum（EDS） tests indicate that Co3O4 can partly dissolve and experience a reversible oxidation-reduction process of Co to Co（OH）2,leading to the improvement in the electrochemical performance of hydrogen storage alloy.
Nanostructured MnO2/CNT composite was synthesized by a soft template approach in the presence of Pluronic P123 surfactant. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the sample consists of poor crystalline α-MnO2 nanorods with a diameter of about 10 nm and a length of 30-50 nm, which absorb on the carbon nanotubes. The electrochemical properties of the product as cathode material for Li-MnO2 cell are evaluated by galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS）. Compared with pure MnO2 electrode, the MnO2/CNT composite delivers a much larger initial capacity of 275.3 mA-h/g and better rate and cycling performance.
