AbstractThe discharge capacity of zinc–carbon cells
(Leclanche cell) is limited by the performance of the
cathode material (MnO2) and physical properties of carbon
powder added to MnO2
. Acetylene black, Vulcan XC 72,
Black Pearls 2000, and a carbon composite (consisting of
50% acetylene black and 50% Black Pearls 2000®) were
evaluated as cathode additives in test cells and were
compared. The study indicated that cathode mixture with
Black Pearls 2000®showed improvement in performance
than acetylene black, the most commonly used carbon in
commercial zinc–carbon cells. The performance of the test
cells was found to have a correlation with the physical
properties of the carbons used.
KeywordsZinc–carbon cell.
Leclanche cell.
Dry cell.
Acetylene black.Black pearls 2000®.Composite carbon
Introduction
Over 50 years, the zinc–carbon cell or Leclanche cell, or
most popularly known as“dry cell” is the widely used
primary battery because of its ability to power-up a wide
range of industrial and domestic/consumer electronic
gadgets and cost affordability, in turn, due to its well-established manufacturing technology and unassailable
reliability in performance. The cell consists of a composite