Metal Electrodeposited on Carbon Fibers as Lead Acid Battery Additives: An Investigation on the Battery Cycle Performance

Abstract

The enhancement of battery performance becomes one of the crucial points of the current research. In this study, the effect of zinc (Zn), tin (Sn), and lead (Pb) electrodeposited on carbon fibers (CF), and pristine‐CF on the negative plates of the lead acid batteries are investigated instead of the traditionally used polypropylene (PP) fibers as additives. The morphological and structural properties of the samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD). The electrochemical performance of the 2 V/30 Ah enhanced flooded cells were prepared and tested. The 50 % depth of discharge (DoD) cycles were carried out. Constant charging processes were applied at 60 °C for 42 days for water consumption tests. Although the best cyclic performances were recorded from the cells with pristine‐CF and CF/Zn, due to enhanced water‐loss in those samples, acidity was increased. On the other hand, with the addition of CF/Sn and CF/Cu/Pb, gassing is reduced resulting in acid stratification during charge/discharge process leading to lower cycle performance, eventually. Overall, using CF or metal modified CF instead of PP fibers enhances the number of charge‐discharge cycle by at least 23 cycles.