Innovations of lead-acid batteries

One of the main causes of the deterioration of lead-acid batteries has been confirmed as the sulfation of the negative the electrodes. The recovery of lead acid batteries from sulfation has been demonstrated by using several additives proposed by the authors et al. From electrochemical investigation, it was found that one of the main effects of additives is increasing the hydrogen overvoltage on the negative electrodes of the batteries. Several kinds of additives have been tested for commercially available lead-acid batteries. The increase in the internal resistance of the lead-acid battery during charge-discharge cycles coincided with a decrease in the discharge capacity of the tested battery, so the internal resistance can be a good index of deterioration of the battery. The colloidal solution of electrolyzed fine-carbon particles, Nanoca, was the most promising to reactivate the deteriorated lead-acid batteries, when it was used together with a suitable amount of organic polymers, such as PVA. The other recent proposals on increasing the performance of lead-acid batteries are also introduced, e.g. a hybrid type lead-acid battery combined a lead-acid battery with a super capacitor.