What is the positive active material of a lead–acid battery?

In the charged state, the positive active-material of the lead–acid battery is highly porous lead dioxide (PbO 2). During discharge, this material is partly reduced to lead sulfate. In the early days of lead–acid battery manufacture, an electrochemical process was used to form the positive active-material from cast plates of pure lead.

What is a positive electrode in a lead-acid battery?

In the early days of lead–acid battery manufacture, an electrochemical process was used to form the positive active-material from cast plates of pure lead. Whereas this so-called ‘Planté plate’ is still in demand today for certain battery types, flat and tubular geometries have become the two major designs of positive electrode.

Do additives affect the performance of lead–acid batteries?

This chapter reviews of the influence of additives to the pastes for positive and negative plates on the processes of plate manufacture and on the performance of lead–acid batteries. The performance of the lead–acid battery depends on the surface of the active materials of the two types of electrodes.

What is the best additive for lead paste?

The lead paste is of a ‘sandy’ form with outstanding characteristics: it retained its hardness and consistency while cycling. Overall, the best additive is the expanded graphite, with its ability to increase the conductivity and porosity of the active material when added to the lead paste.

How much red lead do you add to a positive paste?

There are, however, some manufacturers who add about 10 wt% red lead to the positive paste to obtain a better formation efficiency. The amount of electricity required to produce the conversion of the material is 241 Ah kg −1 based on lead oxide.

How to improve the performance of a lead-acid battery?

The performance of the lead–acid battery depends on the surface of the active materials of the two types of electrodes. In order to improve the performance parameters of the battery, formation of a continuous passivating PbSO4 layer should be avoided.