Pb-MOF derived lead-carbon composites for superior lead-carbon battery

Lead-carbon batteries (LCBs) provide considerable potential for large-scale energy storage, whereas exploring porous carbon negative additives with excellent mitigation of sulphation and parasitic hydrogen evolution remains challenging. Herein, lead-carbon composite (PM@Cx) was prepared from simple pyrolysis of the electrosynthesized Pb-MOF precursor with waste lead paste as sacrificial anode for enhancing the performance of LCBs. The innovative transformation of waste lead paste into Pb-MOF enabled the uniform distribution of Pb atoms in the composite material and the in-situ generation of Pb-C heterojunction after pyrolysis. Benefitting from the presence of Pb nanoparticles and encapsulated structures, PM@Cx exhibits excellent inhibition of hydrogen evolution and increased affinity for carbon with active materials. Owing to the synergistic interaction of the above characteristics, the discharge capacity of the battery with PM@C500 reaches 3.75 Ah at 0.1C, which is 26.7 % enhancement compared to the control (2.96 Ah). The cycling lifespan is 6377 cycles at HRPSoC operating condition, 3 times of the control. This study provides innovative insights into the recycling of waste lead paste and the design of lead-carbon composites for LCBs to inhibit negative sulphation and hydrogen evolution.