Template electrodeposition and characterization of nanostructured Pb as a negative electrode for lead-acid battery

Despite Lead Acid Battery (LAB) is the oldest electrochemical energy storage system, diffusion in the emerging sectors of technological interest is inhibited by its drawbacks. The principal ones are low energy density and negative plate sulphating on high rate discharging. In this work, it is shown the possibility of overcoming such drawbacks by using nanostructured lead as a negative electrode. Lead nanowires (NWs) were fabricated by electrochemical deposition in template, which is an easy, cheap, and easily scalable process. Their morphology and crystal structure have been characterized by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. An electrochemical cell simulating LAB has been assembled with PbO2 as a counter electrode and an AGM separator, both from commercial battery. Cycling tests were conducted at 10C-rate, setting the cut-off voltage on discharging at 1.2 V. For comparison, also cycling tests at 1C-rate have been carried out, in otherwise identical conditions. At both C-rates, performances in terms of cycling efficiency and lifetime were found a lot better than those of current LABs. The high porosity formed under cycling at 10C-rate provides a reliable explanation of the results.