Battery types-come to learn everything about different battery types

Using the right battery types for a particular equipment is very important for its efficiency as well as for the long life. In this article, we are going to dive deep into the battery types and all the relevant details.

What are the main types of battery

Based on the nature of the cell, batteries are mainly classified into two types: primary and secondary.

●Primary cells/battery

Those cells which can not be recharged once fully discharged comes under the primary cell category. Once its electrolyte is all consumed then it serves no purpose and should be disposed properly. It is also necessary to learn how to dispose of batteries in a right way because different kinds of batteries add to the complexity of battery disposal.

●Secondary cells/battery

Secondary cells come under those battery types which are electrically rechargeable in nature. The chemical status of these battery types can be reversed when recharged. Secondary battery types can be further divided into 4 mains types : Lead-Acid battery, NiCad battery, NiMH battery and Lithium ion battery.

Lead acid battery

Lead Acid battery types are the most commercially used and one of the oldest cells in the market. Lead acid batteries are relatively dependable and cheap in nature. But they contain mercury, lead, cadmium and nickel which are bad to the environment.

Working:

It consists of a negative electrode usually made up of spongy or porous lead and porous lead is used for easy formation and dissolution of the lead. The positive electrode is made up of lead oxide. The electrolyte is made up of sulphuric acid and water. An electrically permeable membrane is used to separate the two electrodes. It store energy through reversible chemical reactions.

Overall chemical reaction of lead acid battery types:

At the negative terminal both charge and discharge reactions are:

At the positive terminal charge and discharge reactions are:

Nicad battery

In recent times, Nickel-cadmium battery types commonly abbreviated as Ni-Cd and is taking over the market because of its some advantage over lead-acid battery types like it has high energy density and superior cycling ability. However, its energy density is still lower than that of lithium ion batteries and it has serious memory effect.

Working:

Positive plates are more than negative plates in these battery types. When the battery starts discharging, potassium hydroxide (KOH) breaks into potassium (K+) and hydroxyl (OH-) ions. Here OH- ions go to the negative electrode and K+ ions go to the positive electrode.

During charging, the OH- ions go to the anode and K+ ions go to the cathode. All the relevant chemical reactions for charging and discharging are given below.

Chemical reactions that will take place in the cell:

The above reaction takes place between cathode layer nickel and the separator which gives an output of Nickel Oxide OH ions and on the anode side, the cadmium is mixed with OH ions which gives cadmium oxide and electrons.

NiMh battery

It is one of the newest battery types in the market. It has high power and high energy density and a much longer cycle life as compared to lead-acid batteries. They are completely safe and it is not affected by the battery’s state of charge. The major drawback of these battery types is that they are expensive and their cycle life is shorter than Nicad batteries.

Working:

It basically works on the principle based on the absorption, release and transport of hydrogen within the two electrodes. During charging the reactions will be reversed and the equations will flow from right to left.

Chemical reaction of the positive electrode:

Chemical reaction of the negative electrode:

Overall reaction:

Lithium Ion battery

Lithium Ion battery is an advanced technology. It is a kind of rechargeable batteries which uses lithium ions in its electro chemistry. Small lithium ion batteries are used in portable electronics devices and large batteries are used in big engineering. Lithium ion battery types are free maintenance batteries. It has no memory effect and has long cycle life.

Working:

While discharging, lithium ions in the anode are ionises and separated from the electrons. Lithium ions travelled from anode to cathode while passing through the electrolyte. A micro permeable separator is used in these battery types. These batteries are capable of having high voltage and unit volume.

Chemical reactions at positive electrode:

Chemical reactions at negative electrode:

Overall reaction:

Why are there different types of battery

We use a range of materials as an electrode in different battery types. Scientists have tried different combinations for the electrodes and only a few of them have come so far with us. But the real question is why do we even need different battery types!

Every metal has different electrochemistry with respect to different electrolytes so they produce different results. If we take a few examples we know that some combinations will produce a high voltage rapidly and then drop off very quickly.

It will be the desired quality if we are looking for some kind of spike or flash like in camera but not suitable for other applications. We can say that different batteries are produced to power different applications according to its need. For example, lithium ion batteries are well used in marine applications, medical devices, UPS solar system, golf cars an so on.

Which type of battery is best

Lithium ion battery types are the current best battery types in the market as it has the highest capacity and long lasting in nature. There are many advantages of lithium ion batteries as compared to other batteries.

● These battery types are very eco-friendly in nature
● Lightweight and compact
● High energy density
● Free maintenance
● Long cycle life of up to 4000 times
● Low self discharge rate of 3.5% per month

Table comparison of different battery types

What are the most common batteries

Now-a-days the most common batteries are lithium-ion batteries. It is finding its application in many areas. The fastest growing field is electric vehicles and energy storage. It has a wide range of applications as compared to other rechargeable batteries. Some of the applications are as follows:

● Powerwall
● Rack mount lithium battery
● Marine applications
● Medical devices
● Golf cars
● Lawn mover
● Power tools
● RVs
● UPS
● Solar system

What is the main size of battery cells

Battery sizes are available in following:

AA & AAA batteries

AA and AAA is nothing but an identifier for its shape. Size of batteries matter as they can only operate on sized matching devices.

18650 batteries

It is a model of lithium rechargeable battery types of 3.2-3.7 volts. These battery types are quite similar to AA batteries but a little bigger in size and 18*65mm is the dimensions.The main advantage of these batteries is that they are lightweight.

21700 batteries

These battery types are also lithium-ion cells that are used in various devices like vaping accessories and flashlights. It is also named after its dimensions to identify size and its compatibility. It is 21mm in diameter and 70 mm in length.

4680 batteries

These battery types have 5 times more energy and 6 times the power that enable its range to increase 16%. Their dimensions are 46*80mm.

What is the main shape of a battery cell

Mainly batteries have 3 shapes in common：cylindrical battery, square battery and pouch battery.

Cylindrical battery

A cylindrical battery is a cell enclosed in a cylinder can. These cells are small and round which makes it possible to stack them in all size devices. Cylindrical battery shape prevents them from swelling.

Square battery

It features a compact design which is almost square in shape. It has a built-in protection circuit that protects the battery.Both square and cylinder are common battery shapes.

Pouch battery

Pouch battery here refers to a layer of polymer shell on lithium batteries which are mainly packaged in aluminium plastic film. Soft packing lithium batteries are also known as polymer lithium batteries. It has very good and safety performance, small in size, light weight and high energy density.

What new battery types are currently being developed

A few technology of new battery types which are mentioned here that can change the future of humans:
● Full solid state battery
● Sodium-ion battery
● 46 Series large capacity battery