“…In brief, to prepare an unformed battery plate, the paste is pressed into a lead alloy grid, and the plate is then allowed to stand or "cure" to oxidize most of the free lead and to develop various basic sulfates 9 The chemistry of basic sulfates has received considerable attention. The thermodynamics of these compounds were discussed by Barnes and Mathieson (5), and the phase changes and the chemistry of the curing processes were reviewed by Ritchie and co-workers (2), and have been discussed and reviewed by others (1,6,7). Specific curing techniques and practical instructions are available (1,2,6) and it has been generally summarized (1, 2, 6, 7) that plates cured by drying at ambient conditions or at slightly elevated temperatures and humidities develop PbO 9 PbSO4 and 3PbO 9 PbSO4 9 H20 as the principal basic sulfates while those cured at higher temperatures (above 70~ and humidities principally develop 4PbO.…”