Preparation of a Hierarchically Porous Lead/Carbon Composite and Its Application in Lead‐Carbon Batteries

A novel and scalable lead-modified phenolic resin-based carbon material (Pb/PRC) has been successfully prepared by using lead-modified phenolic resin (Pb/PR) as a precursor, toluene as a pore-forming agent, and KOH as an activating agent. The Pb/PRC composite presents a hierarchically porous nanosphere structure, and this structure contributes to prolong its cycling life under high-rate partial state-of-charge (HRPSoC) operation. Pb/PRC with nano-lead can effectively inhibit hydrogen evolution and provide pseudocapacitance. Compared with a blank negative plate, a lead-carbon battery with Pb/PRC displays 18 000 cycles under HRPSoC operation and exhibits a capacity of 100 mA h g-1 at 2 C discharge rate.