Hydro-thermal preparation of PbCO3/N-rGO nano-composites as positive additives to improve the performance of lead-acid batteries

Due to the expansion of the energy storage market, the demand for lead-acid batteries is also increasing. In order to improve the discharge specific capacity of lead-acid batteries, this paper uses graphene oxide (GO), Pb(Ac) 2 ·3H 2 O, urea and other raw materials in the reactor. The PbCO 3 /N-rGO nanocomposite was prepared by a hydrothermal method as a positive electrode additive for lead-acid batteries. The material was characterized by XRD, STM, SEM, Raman, etc., and was doped into a simulated battery positive plate. The positive plate exhibits excellent electrochemical performance when the addition amount of the PbCO 3 /N-rGO nanocomposite in the positive plate is 1 wt%. In the simulated battery test, the initial discharge specific capacity reaches 166 mAh g −1 , which is 52% higher than that of the blank control group, and a 2-fold improvement in HPRSoC cycle life at 1 C rate. The PbCO 3 /N-rGO enabled the battery to have a higher discharge specific capacity and the longest charge/discharge cycle life, this is due to the nanostructure and good electrical conductivity of the PbCO 3 /N-rGO nanocomposite improving the utilization of the positive active material (PAM). • In this work, PbCO 3 /N-rGO nanocomposites were simply prepared using a hydrothermal method. • PbCO 3 /N-rGO nanocomposites form a micro-nano hierarchical structure greatly improves the utilization of PAM. • 1 wt.%PbCO 3 /N-rGO cell has the longest discharge specific capacity at initial and different rates.