Lead sulfate precursor to positive active material in lead/acid batteries

Lead/acid batteries occupy a very important position in the fields of secondary batteries for the higher performance and cost ratio. But when lead powder is used as a precursor to the active material, the production time is very long and the environmental pollution is very serious. Thus many people are seeking new material instead of lead powder. A new precursor to active material, lead sulfate, is studied in this paper. It follows the principles of cleaner production when lead sulfate is used as electrode material. The main advantages of lead sulfate as a precursor to positive active material is introduced. It shows from the battery performance test that it is completely practicable to use lead sulfate as a precursor to positive active material. The specific energy by weight of 12V10Ah battery at 5 and 2 h rate reaches 37.19 and 35.47 Wh kg−1, respectively. The cycle life of 55% DOD attains 450 times. This has made it completely practicable as motive power sources for electric bicycles.