Pitch-based carbon foam electrodeposited with lead as positive current collectors for lead acid batteries

Lead electrodeposited carbon foam (LCF), whose substrate was made from pitch by a template method, was investigated as possible positive current collectors for lead acid batteries. Scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests were employed to characterize the effect of the proposed collector on the structure and electrochemical properties of the positive active material (PAM). The LCF with uniform and dense lead coating shows the similar electrochemical characteristics to metallic lead in the voltage range where the positive electrodes of lead acid batteries operate. The LCF and lead slices were used as the positive current collectors to equip lead acid batteries, respectively. Comparative charge-discharge tests show that a battery equipped with a LCF collector exhibits higher PAM utilization efficiency and longer cycle life, for LCF can provide large specific surface area which is beneficial to electrochemical reactions and PAM adhesion. In addition, a light lead acid battery with a LCF positive current collector and a carbon foam negative current collector was made and tested for the first time. It deserves systematic industrial study in the future.