Operation of thin-plate positive lead-acid battery electrodes employing titanium current collectors

[Display omitted] •Electrochemical study of the operation of positive thin-plate lead-acid battery electrodes.•Discharge process driven by mixed electrochemical kinetics.•Reversible passivation of the lead dioxide electrode.•Active material ageing based on Ostwald ripening mechanism.•Elimination of the resistive ageing due to the use of titanium positive current collectors. One of the root causes for the limited lifetime or the restricted high power performance of the lead-acid batteries is the corrosion of the positive current collectors. These barriers can be overcome using titanium as an attractive alternative of the lead and the lead alloy grids, due to a combination of excellent mechanical strength, corrosion resistance and great abundance. This article presents a new technological route to simultaneous decrease of the electrode thickness and weight, and a replacement of the classic grids with titanium substrates like tin dioxide coated foil or expanded mesh. The new electrodes are studied electrochemically and physically revealing that the reduction of the electrode thickness promotes the formation of positive electrodes composed of pure beta lead dioxide with high crystallinity. The latter induces an initial partial capacity loss, which can be avoided by lowering the depth of discharge, positive plate oversizing or changes in the paste mixing and curing processes.