In order to improve high-temperature performances, calcium hydroxide was coated onto [Ni4Al(OH)(10)]NO3 through surface modification or mechanical blending. The existence of Ca(OH)(2) was revealed by XRD, and SEM which showed that there are Ca(OH)(2)-rich blocks in the sample containing 13.0wt% calcium prepared by surface modification. The addition of Ca(OH)(2) can retard the structural transformation from the layered double hydroxide [Ni4Al(OH)(10)]NO3 to beta-Ni(OH)(2). In addition, it improves charge/discharge performances and electrochemical reversibility by elevating the oxygen evolution potential, increasing the double layer capacity C-dl and decreasing the charge transfer resistance R-ct. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.