Electrochemistry Communications (Jan 2023)
N-doped reduced graphene oxide loading nano lead oxide as negative additive for enhanced properties of lead-carbon batteries
Abstract
The use of carbon materials could significantly increase the cycle life of lead-acid batteries (LABs) by inhibiting the irreversible sulfation. However, it will exacerbate hydrogen evolution side reaction at the negative plates, which not only reduce coulombic efficiency, destroy the plate microstructure, but also accelerate moisture loss. Herein, a N-doped reduced graphene oxide/lead oxide nanoparticles(N-rGO/PbO) composite was synthesized by hydrothermal and calcination process. Comparative studies found that the strategy of loading with metal oxide nanoparticles, which with high hydrogen evolution overpotentials (ηH), and N-doped can retard the rate of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on composite materials. In addition, the resultant composite can help to promote the uniform distribution of graphene in negative active materials (NAM) and structural stability of the negative plate and enhance the combination between the additive and NAM. Thanks to the superiority of the prepared composite material additives, the high-rate partial-state-of-charge (HRPSoC) life of lead-carbon battery (LCB) containing the composite additive shown a prominent enhancement. Specifically, the simulated micro battery containing 0.50 wt% N-rGO/PbO additive showed the best cycle life (17390 cycles), compared to that with same content rGO additive (7742 cycles) and that without any carbon additive (2777 cycles). What’s more, by adding 0.50 wt% N-rGO/PbO additive, the initial discharge capacity of simulated micro battery could be enhanced from 145.6 to 162.6 mAh g−1 and the rate capability had also been improved. In summary, the N-rGO/PbO composite manifests great potential in lead-carbon batteries for improving HRPSoC cycle life and discharge capacity.
