Synthesis of Sub-Micro and Nanometer Sized Lead Oxide by Sol-Gel Pyrrolysis Method and Its Application as Cathode and Anode of Lead-Acid Batteries

The overall goal of this program was to obtain an easy method for synthesizing more porous nano-structured lead oxide. Such structure probably can be useful as pigment and active material of lead-acid batteries. This paper discusses the results of a research aimed at investigating the synthesis of nanostructured lead oxide through sol-gel pyrrolysis method. In this method, the amount of Pb(NO3)2, PVA, the mixed solvent composition, and the pyrrolysis temperature have an affect on the composition, morphology, and particles sizes of the sample. The degree of these effects was optimized by the "one at a time" method. The prepared lead oxide powder was characterized by relative gravimetrical density (RGD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Under optimum conditions, unformed nanostructured lead oxide powder with more spongy morphology and particle size 14-83 nm was obtained. The synthesized lead oxide was first used as anode of lead-acid battery which coupled with industrial positive plates. At the other stage, the proposed powder was used as cathode material which coupled with industrial negative plates to make lead-acid battery. All industrial production steps for the lead-acid batteries were performed to produce small-sized laboratorial lead-acid batteries by using the synthesized nanometer sized particles. The laboratory-made batteries showed high discharge capacity (230 mA.h/g) and long cycle life.