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Evaluation of the effect of additive group five elements on the properties of Pb-Ca-Sn-Al alloy as the positive grid for lead-acid batteries

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Abstract

As an important part of lead-acid batteries, the grid is mainly used to support active substances and conduct current. Currently, Pb-Ca-Sn-Al alloys are widely used as materials for valve-regulated lead-acid battery grids. The influence of bismuth, barium, strontium, and germanium as alloying additives on the physical and electrochemical behaviors of Pb-Ca-Sn-Al alloys was studied by the methods of metallographic, cyclic voltammetry, linear scanning voltammetry, AC impedance, and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the addition of Bi and Ba can increase the grain size of the alloy and reduce the intergranular corrosion and corrosion rate of Pb-Ca-Sn-Al alloy. Furthermore, the addition of Bi and Ba could inhibit the growth of Pb (II) and PbO2 in corrosion layer and improve the corrosion resistance of the alloy. Significantly, Bi and Ba will reduce the oxygen evolution overpotential of the alloy by about 30 mV, which will play important roles on the maintenance-free performance of lead-acid batteries. Both Sr and Ge promote the grain corrosion and intergranular corrosion of the alloy, reducing the corrosion resistance of the alloy. Therefore, improving the performance and corrosion life of the grid by using additives is an important approach to further extending the service life of lead-acid batteries.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the assistance and guidance of Dr. Boris Monahov from the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (International Lead Association) with this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage and Institute of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China

    Baofeng Yang, Shaoqiang Yang, Wei Liu, Changsong Dai & Geping Yin

  2. Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Storage Technology of Jiangsu Province, Shuangdeng Group Co., Ltd., Taizhou, 225500, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Baofeng Yang, Xianyu Cai, Enyu Li, Wei Liu & Changsong Dai

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  1. Baofeng Yang
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  2. Xianyu Cai
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  3. Enyu Li
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  4. Shaoqiang Yang
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  5. Wei Liu
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  7. Geping Yin
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Correspondence to Geping Yin.

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Yang, B., Cai, X., Li, E. et al. Evaluation of the effect of additive group five elements on the properties of Pb-Ca-Sn-Al alloy as the positive grid for lead-acid batteries. J Solid State Electrochem 23, 1715–1725 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-019-04265-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-019-04265-x

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