Primary Batteries

• Primary batteries are non-rechargeable and disposable. Sometimes also called single-use or throw away batteries because they have to be discarded after they run empty as they cannot be recharged for reuse. The electrochemical reactions in these batteries are non-reversible. The materials in the electrodes are completely utilized and therefore cannot regenerate electricity. Primary batteries are often used when long periods of storage are required, as they have a much lower discharge rate than secondary batteries. Primary batteries are single-use batteries designed to be discarded after their energy is depleted. Their capacity depends on the reactants included during manufacture.

• Applications: The use of primary batteries is exemplified by wrist watches, flashlights, and remote controls.

Secondary Batteries

• Secondary batteries are rechargeable. These batteries undergo electrochemical reactions that can be readily reversed. The chemical reactions that occur in secondary batteries are reversible because the components that react are not completely used up. Rechargeable batteries need an external electrical source to recharge them after they have expended their energy.

• Applications: The use of secondary batteries is exemplified by mobile phones, electric vehicles, and portable electronic devices like powerbank.

• Batteries operate via galvanic cells, where oxidation occurs at the anode and reduction at the cathode. These reactions generate an electric current that powers devices.

• Electrochemical reaction

  A chemical reaction between two different metals and an electrolyte frees more electrons in one metal than the other. The metal with more electrons becomes positively charged, and the other becomes negatively charged. 

• Electron flow

  When a wire connects the ends of the battery, electrons flow through the wire to balance the electrical charge. The flow of electrons creates an electric current that can be used to power a device. 

• Charging and discharging

  When electrons move from the cathode to the anode, the battery charges. When electrons move in the opposite direction, the battery discharges. 

• Electrolyte

  The electrolyte carries positively charged lithium ions from the anode to the cathode and vice versa. 

• Separator

  The separator blocks the flow of electrons inside the battery. 

• Electrodes

  Different electrodes and electrolytes produce different chemical reactions that affect how the battery works.

Nicole Beverly P. Frias BSIE 1-E

Submitted to:

Prof. Eddalin Quemada - Lampawog

Battery History:

1. Origin of the Term "Battery" (1749): Benjamin Franklin coined the term to describe linked capacitors.

2. Baghdad Batteries (1936): Believed to be over 2,000 years old, their purpose remains debated.

3. Galvani and Volta (1780-1800): Galvani discovered "animal electricity," and Volta invented the first true battery, the voltaic pile.

4. Advancements in Wet Cells (1836-1866):

   • Daniell cell (1836)

   • Grove cell (1844)

   • Lead-acid cell (first rechargeable battery, 1859)

   • Gravity cell (1860s)

   • Leclanché cell (1866)

5. Transition to Dry Cells (1887): Carl Gassner introduced the first dry cell (zinc-carbon).

6. Nickel-Based Batteries (1899-1903): Nickel-cadmium and nickel-iron batteries developed by Jungner, with Edison patenting the latter.

7. Modern Developments:

   • Alkaline battery (1955, by Lewis Urry)

   • Nickel-hydrogen (1970s) and nickel-metal hydride (1980s) batteries.

   • Lithium-ion polymer batteries (1996) became dominant for portable electronics.

• Non-rechargeable batteries (primary batteries)

• Rechargeable batteries (secondary batteries)

• Type

• Voltage

• Discharge curve

• Capacity

• Energy density

• Specific energy density

• Power density

• Temperature dependence

• Service life

• Physical requirements

• Charge/discharge cycle

• Cycle life

• Cost

• Ability to deep discharge

• Application requirements

The current battery market reached around USD 113.4 billion. This market keeps increasing with the development of EVs and the expansion of portable electronics and wearable electronic devices.

From a range of devices like Phones to EVS to drones to automobiles, the battery and type also differ and are based on use cases.

Another reason to use different combinations of metals is that often two or more battery cells need to be stacked to obtain the required voltage, and it turns out that some electrode combinations stack together much more happily than other combinations. For example, the lithium iron phosphate batteries (a type of lithium-ion battery) used in electric cars stack together to make high voltage systems (100 or even more volts), but you’d never do that with those NiCad Walkman batteries that get hot! Our different needs over time have led to the development of a huge array of battery types.

Wet cell batteries contain a liquid electrolyte. They can be either primary or secondary batteries. Due to the liquid nature of wet cells, insulator sheets are used to separate the anode and the cathode. Types of wet cells include Daniell cells, Leclanche cells (originally used in dry cells), Bunsen cells, Weston cells, Chromic acid cells, and Grove cells. The lead-acid cells in automobile batteries are wet cells.

Dry Cells

In dry cell batteries, no free liquid is present. Instead the electrolyte is a paste, just moist enough to allow current flow. This allows the dry cell battery to be operated in any position without worrying about spilling its contents. This is why dry cell batteries are commonly used in products which are frequently moved around and inverted, such as portable electronic devices. Dry cell batteries can be either primary or secondary batteries. The most common dry cell battery is the Leclanche cell.

Secondary batteries self-discharge even more rapidly. They usually lose about 10% of their charge each month. Rechargeable batteries gradually lose capacity after every recharge cycle due to deterioration. This is caused by active materials falling off the electrodes or electrolytes moving away from the electrodes

Each half cell consists of an electrode and an electrolyte solution. Usually the solution contains ions derived from the electrode by oxidation or reduction reaction.

A galvanic cell is also called a voltaic cell. The spontaneous reactions in it provide the electric energy or current.

Two half cells can be put together to form an electrolytic cell, which is used for electrolysis. In this case, electric energy is used to force nonspontaneous chemical reactions.