Investigation of the effects of tri-ammonium citrate electrolyte additive for lead-acid battery using lead foil as negative grid

Abstract

This study aims to create a lead foil anode for lead-acid batteries with high specific energy, lightweight, and corrosion-resistant. The research also discovered that incorporating tri-ammonium citrate (AC) into the electrolyte significantly enhances the cycling performance of the pure lead level foil negative electrode under high-rate-partial-state-of-charge (HRPSoC) conditions. This addition also increases the specific capacity at high rates, resulting in a 2.3-fold improvement in HRPSoC cycling performance at a 1C rate and a 52 % increase in discharged capacity at a 4C rate, compared to the control blank plate without AC. Through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and other material characterization methods, as well as electrochemical tests, it is proved that AC improves the morphology of lead sulfate into a lamellar stacked structure. It can also effectively refine lead sulfate grains and inhibit sulfation. In addition, pure lead foil batteries exhibit superior capacity cycle stability at a high multiplication rate compared to grid lead-based alloy batteries. Pure lead foil batteries also have a significantly longer cycle life, with a 65 % increase in discharge-specific capacity at a 4C multiplication rate and a 2.2 times and 1.8 times increase in cycle life at 1C and 2C multiplication rates, respectively.