Alkaline manganese batteries are powerful primary batteries
and are used widely to operate portable devices, such
as cameras and portable cassette players, which require a
lot of electric power. They have a twofold advantage in
specific energy over classical Leclanche batteries. For a
long time, mercury has been employed in alkaline manganese
batteries, since it is the most useful additive to the
zinc anode material for suppressing hydrogen gas evolution
that is caused by self-discharge reactions w1–10x. Due
to environmental concerns, however, a much recent research
has been carried out to diminish the content of
mercury in the zinc powder.