Abstract
Reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) plated electrochemically with a thin layer of lead was investigated as a carrier and current collector material for the positive and negative plates for lead-acid batteries. Flooded 2 V single lead-acid cells, with capacities up to 46 Ah, containing two positive and two negative plates were assembled and subjected to charge/discharge cycling tests, self-discharge characterization and Peukert’s dependences determination. They could retain 72% of discharge capacity after 12 months of storage in room temperature and showed similar performance to a standard cell during cycle life test. A 2-V cell using a carbon material with higher conductivity than RVC was also constructed. It showed improved performance under higher current discharges, comparable to standard lead-acid batteries. Additional cycling tests were performed on a complete 12-V RVC-based battery. It completed almost three times the number of cycles of lead-acid batteries with standard current collectors. Obtained results are promising and show that application of a conducting porous carbon as a carrier and current-collector will significantly increase the specific capacity of the lead-acid battery and self-discharge characterization and cycling charging–discharging battery durability.Graphical abstractPreparation of a 2-V RVC/Pb-based cell
Highlights
Lead-acid batteries were invented about 160 years ago and evolved considerably over the years, but they are still one of the most widely used secondary batteries
The performance during high-current discharge can be improved by usage of better conducting carbon materials, like conductive porous carbon (CPC)
During the tests of the cycle life, a cell with reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC)/Pb plates completed almost 200 full discharge/charge cycles, which is comparable to results of a standard grid-based battery
Summary
Lead-acid batteries were invented about 160 years ago and evolved considerably over the years, but they are still one of the most widely used secondary batteries. J Solid State Electrochem (2018) 22:2703–2714 conventional grid battery [16,17,18,19]. Jang et al [20] evaluated the electrochemical stability of the graphite foams as current collector materials to replace lead alloys. Kelley and co-workers [25,26,27] proposed carbon foams as possible current collectors for leadacid batteries described in patents applied by the start-up company Firefly Energy Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. Kirchev et al [28,29,30] studied the carbon honeycomb grids as innovative alternative to the classical grids. The usual strategy to employ the lightweight porous carbon materials is to electroplate it with a lead or lead alloy coating. There are several reports on the substitution of the lead alloy cast gird with a lead-foam grid [31,32,33,34]
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