Characterization of lignin and lignin-derivatives from biomass. Application as expander of Lead-acid battery

Visualization of Electrolyte Reaction Field Near the Negative Electrode of a Lead Acid Battery by Means of Amplitude/Frequency Modulation Atomic Force Microscopy

“…LS obtained via the sulfite cooking of lignin, one of the main components of timber, is added in the initial manufacturing step of LABs, and has additive effects such as providing a larger paste viscosity and specific surface area in each process [ 9 ]. Various expanders or auxiliary agents have been added to electrodes and/or electrolyte solutions to improve their properties, leading to improvements in the charge/discharge life cycle and a reduction in hydrogen generation as an adverse reaction [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. However, the charge acceptance performance is worsened by the addition of LS.…”

“…Knehr et al also suggested a similar tendency for crystal growth by means of TXM [ 20 , 21 ]. However, research on the adsorption site of the expander and the solvation structure in the electrolyte has not significantly progressed, while a number of research papers on morphological changes in the negative electrode during the reaction due to the addition of expander were published [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Therefore, we conceived the idea that frequency modulation atomic force AFM (FM-AFM) could be used to analyze structural changes at the negative electrode–electrolyte interface [ 23 ].…”