TIN-CLAD SUBSTRATES FOR USE AS CURRENT COLLECTORS, BATTERIES COMPRISED THEREOF AND METHODS FOR PREPARING SAME

摘要

The present invention provides a current collector (10) for a battery which comprises a lead or lead alloy substrate (12) and a thin cladding (14) of tin, batteries utilizing such a current collector (10) and methods for manufacturing such batteries. Preferably the tin cladding (14) is composed of substantially pure tin and the concentration of the tin cladding relative to the weight of the current collector (10) (i.e., the combined weight of the substrate and cladding) is less than 4 % by weight. The tin cladding (14) forms a noncontinuous layer over the outer surface of the substrate (10) such that there are interspersed regions of lead and tin at the current collector (10) surface. Batteries utilizing such current collectors exhibit marked improvement in performance compared to similar cells composed of tin alloys. In particular, batteries using current collectors of the present design offer superior cycle life and shelf life performance.