Conductivity of  KOH  Electrolyte Supersaturated with Zincate

The specific conductivity of 7.32N KOH electrolyte with zincate concentrations ranging from 0 to 1.5M has been measured. The electrolyte conductivity was found to decrease with increasing zincate concentration. This finding is consistent with predictions based on the mixture rule. The equivalent conductance of 7.32N potassium zincate of 7/plus or minus/5 mho*cm/equiv. may indicate the formation of neutral associated ion pairs from potassium and zincate ions in the electrolyte. Further calculations indicated that the mixture rule yields predictions of conductivities for the KF-KOH and K/sub 2/CO/sub 3/-KOH systems that are in good agreement with experimental data in the literature. This work is pertinent to alkaline batteries to be used in electric vehicles. 19 refs.