Hungarian Journal of Industrial Chemistry, Vol.24, No.2, 131-136, 1996
Role of minor alloying elements on the performance of grids of lead-acid batteries .4. Corrodability of Pb-Sn alloys
The corrosion of Pb-Sn alloys (Sn = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 & 0.4 %) in 5.0 M H2SO4 solutions under currentless, potentiostatic and galvanostatic polarization conditions were studied. The self-passivation was found to increase with increasing tin percent and the steady corrosion potential was shifted to more negative values. The passivity current decreased substantially (in PbSO4 formation region) as Sn content increased. The overpotential of O-2 evolution reaction for Pb-Sn alloys was found to be generally higher than that for Ph metal. On the other hand, the overpotential of H-2 evolution reaction increased in the order: Pb-0.1 % Sn < Ph similar to Pb-0.2 % Sn similar to Pb-0.3 % Sn < Pb-0.4 % Sn. The rate of self-discharging was found to decrease with increase of Sn % and the efficiency of PbO2 formation increased. The thickness of the electrochemically active layer was found to increase on repeated charging and discharging and the effect depends of Sn %, Pb-0.2 % Sn > Pb-0.3 % Sn > Ph-0.4 % Sn > Ph > Ph-0.1 % Sn.