Battery

A battery is an Electrochemical cell or often several electrochemical cells which are

connected in series to produce a constant voltage to run portable goods.

Mainly batteries are of three types:

1) Primary Battery is the one in which cell reactions are irreversible.

E.g. Lechlanche cell, Zn-Carbon Battery.

2) Secondary Battery is the one in which cell reactions can be reversed by passing
external emf in opposite direction. i.e. it can be used for many cycles of charging and
discharging.

E.g. Lead – Acid battery, Nicad etc.

3) Flow battery is the one in which all the constituents of the battery flow
thought the battery.

E.g. Hydrogen-Oxygen Fuel cell.

Zinc-Carbon Battery:

It consists of Zinc can which acts as anode. A graphite rod is placed in the middle of
the can acts as cathode. A mixture of MnO2, NH4Cl and ZnCl2 acts as electrolyte. A
small amount of starch is added to the electrolytic mixture to keep it in the form of a
paste so that chance of undergoing leakage is less. When it supplies voltage the
following cell reactions take place.

Anode: Zn Zn2+ + 2 e- (oxidation)

Cathode: 2 MnO2 + 2NH4+ + 2 Cl- + Zn2+ + 2 e- Mn2O3 + [Zn(NH3)2]Cl2 + H2O

(Reduction)
Net reaction: Zn + 2 MnO2 + 2 NH4+ + 2 Cl- Mn2O3 + [Zn(NH3)2]Cl2 + H2O

The voltage supplied by the cell is 1.5 V.

In designing Zn-Carbon cells, corrosion and other undesirable reactions cause
difficulties. Luckily, the over potential for hydrogen evolution on zinc is quite high in
mildly acidic or alkaline solutions. Another source of corrosion is direct reaction of
oxygen in air ingress to the cell. In order to protect against this problem, the cell is
sealed and access of air is restricted as far as possible.

Uses: It is used in the areas where low voltages are required such as calculators,
remotes, wall clocks, etc.

Storage cell: it is the one which can act both as voltaic cell and electrolytic cell.
When it functions as voltaic cell, it supplies electric current and the process is known
as discharging. When it functions as electrolytic cell, it receives electric current and
this process is known as charging. So it can be used for a large no. of cycles of
charging and discharging. The best example for storage cell is lead acid battery or
lead acid accumulator.

Lead-acid battery: Lead-acid is the oldest rechargeable battery in existence.

Invented by the French physician Gaston Planté in 1859, lead-acid was the first
rechargeable battery for commercial use. 150 years later, we still have no cost-
effective alternatives for cars, wheelchairs, scooters, golf carts and UPS systems.

Construction: Large number of anodes and cathodes are arranged alternatively in a

series separated by insulators as shown above. The entire set up is immersed in dilute
sulphuric acid solution.

Anode: lead plate

Cathode: lead dioxide plate

Electrolyte: 25% H2SO4 solution

Discharging:

Reactions taking place during discharging: During discharging, it acts as voltaic cell
and supplies electrical energy.
Anode: Pb Pb2+ + 2 e- (oxidation)

Pb2+ + SO42- PbSO4

Cathode: PbO2 + 4 H+ + 2 e- Pb2+ + 2H2O (Reduction)

Pb2+ + SO42- PbSO4

Net reaction: Pb + PbO2 + 4 H+ + 2 SO42- 2 PbSO4 + 2 H2O + Energy (= 2 V)

The following points can be noticed from the above reaction:

The concentration of sulphuric acid decreases in course of reaction.

Both the electrodes are covered with lead sulphate.
As lead sulphate is insoluble in sulphuric acid, it acts as a protective layer and
prevents the further corrosion of lead.
As the lead sulphate deposited at both the electrodes is solid, the cell reactions can
easily be reversed by passing emf just above the voltage of the cell i.e. > 2 V.

Charging:

2 PbSO4 + 2 H2O + Energy (> 2 V) Pb + PbO2 + 4 H+ + 2 SO42-

Application: Car battery

c. Nickel Cadmium Battery: - a dry cell with the same set up as alkaline dry cell but
it can be recharged (a lot lighter than lead-acid batteries).

- it can developed a “memory” problem, so after each recharged cycled, the battery
tends to have a shorter “life-span”. This can be corrected by completely discharging
the battery before recharging it fully for the next usage cycle

- Cadmium is an expensive metal, and cannot be disposed easily due to its toxicity.
Special care must be taken to recycle Ni-Cd batteries.

Redox Reaction for a Ni-Cd Dry Cell Battery

(Red) NiO2(s)+ 2 H2O (l) + 2e− → Ni(OH)2 (s)+2 OH−(aq) E°cathode=−0.49 V (Oxi)

Cd (s) + 2 OH−(aq) → Cd(OH)2 (s) + 2e− E°anode = +1.74 V

 NiO2 (s) + Cd (s) + 2 H2O (l) → Cd(OH)2 (s) + Ni(OH)2 (s) E°cell = 1.25 V

Ni-Cd Rechargeable Batteries has E°cell = 1.2 V.

3. Fuel Cell: - a galvanic cell where there is a continuous supply of reactants.

- the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell produces water as a product and hence is an ideal
power source for zero-emission vehicles

Redox Reaction for a Hydrogen Fuel Cell

(Reduction) O2 (g) + 2 H2O (l) + 4e− → 4 OH− (aq) E°cathode = 0.40 V

(Oxidation) 2 ( H2 (g) + 2 OH−(aq) → 2 H2O (l) + 2e− ) E°anode = +0.83 V

2 H2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2 H2O (l) E°cell = 1.23 V

Ford Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV): The hydrogen tank (at 5000 psi) is stored
inside the trunk.

Lithium ion Battery

A lithium-ion battery (sometimes Li-ion battery or LIB) is a family of rechargeable

battery types in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive
electrode during discharge, and back when charging. Chemistry, performance, cost,
and safety characteristics vary across LIB types. Unlike lithium primary batteries
(which are disposable), lithium-ion electrochemical cells use an intercalated lithium
compound as the electrode material instead of metallic lithium.
During discharge, lithium ions Li+ carry the current from the negative to the positive
electrode, through the non - aqueous electrolyte and separator diaphragm.
During charging, an external electrical power source (the charging circuit) applies a
higher voltage (but of the same polarity) than that produced by the battery, forcing
the current to pass in the reverse direction. The lithium ions then migrate from the
positive to the negative electrode, where they become embedded in the porous
electrode material in a process known as intercalation.
The three participants in the electrochemical reactions in a lithium-ion battery are
the anode, cathode, and electrolyte.
Both the anode and cathode are materials into which, and from which, lithium can
migrate. During insertion (or intercalation) lithium moves into the electrode. During
the reverse process, extraction (or deintercalation), lithium moves back out. When a
lithium-based cell is discharging, the lithium is extracted from the anode and inserted
into the cathode. When the cell is charging, the reverse occurs.
Useful work can only be extracted if electrons flow through a closed external circuit.
The following equations are in units of moles, making it possible to use the coefficient
x.
The positive electrode half-reaction (with charging being forwards) is:

The negative electrode half-reaction is:

The overall reaction has its limits. Over discharge supersaturates lithium cobalt oxide,
leading to the production of lithium oxide possibly by the following irreversible
reaction:

Overcharge up to 5.2 Volts leads to the synthesis of cobalt(IV) oxide, as evidenced by

x-ray diffraction

In a lithium-ion battery the lithium ions are transported to and from the cathode or
anode, with the transition metal, cobalt (Co), in LixCoO2 being oxidized from Co3+ to
Co4+ during charging, and reduced from Co4+ to Co3+ during discharge.
Solar Cell
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaic cells or Solar cells are the semiconductor devices which converts sunlight
into direct current electricity on illumination.
Working of photovoltaic cells: The Solar cells or Photovoltaic cells are
made out of semiconductors which have the capacity to absorb light.
When n-type and p-type semiconductor are bought together a semiconductor diode
is formed. The semiconductor diode separates and collects the carriers and conducts
the generated electrical current preferentially in a specific direction.
A typical silicon photovoltaic cell is composed of a thin wafer consisting of an ultra
thin layer of phosphorus doped. (n-type) silicon on top of boron doped (p-type)
silicon. Hence a p-n junction is formed. A metallic grid forms one of the electrical
current contacts of the diode and allows light to fall on the semiconductor
between the grid lines. An antireflective layer between the grid lines increases
the amount of light transmitted to the semiconductor. The cell’s other electrical
contacts is formed by a metallic layer on the back of the solar cell.
When light radiation falls on the p-n junction diode, electron – hole pairs are
generated by the absorption of the radiation. The electrons are drifted to and
collected at the n-type end and the holes are drifted to p- type end. When these
two ends are electrically connected through a conductor, there is a flow of
current between the two ends through the external circuit. Thus photoelectric
current is produced.

Importance of Photovoltaic cells:

The conventional energy is exhaustible and depleting, where as Solar energy
being ultimate, inexhaustible and renewable energy. There the photovoltaic cells
are important means to utilize this continuous energy source.
The Photovoltaic cells can serve for both off-grid and on-grid applications. It can be
used for off-grid professional devices and supply systems such as telecommunication
equipment, solar home systems, etc.
The Photovoltaic energy conversion environmental friendly as there is no harmful
emission of pollutants. Use of or production of solar energy doesn’t produce
noise pollution.
The electricity obtained from solar energy is useful in minimizing global warming
due to carbon dioxide.
Photo voltaics can be used as roof integrated systems, providing power and also
serving as optical shading elements for the space below and preventing overheating
in the summer.
Photovoltaic cells provide power for spacecraft and satellites. Developments in the
field of photovoltaic cells will boost the semiconductor industry and storage battery
industries.