RESUMO
The electrochemical act of valve-regulated lead acid batteries can be enhanced by conductive materials like metal oxides. This work aims to examine the preparation and influence of zirconia on poly(vinyl alcohol) based gel valve-regulated lead acid battery. Characterizations like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ionic conductivity, water retention study, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques were done. The optimized gel system exhibited a discharge capacity of 198.45 µAh cm-2 at the current density of 0.6 mA cm-2. The battery cell with an optimized gel matrix displayed a maximum discharge capacity of 22.5 µAh at a current of 20 µA. After 500 continuous cycles, the battery attained a discharge capacity retention of 91 %. The presence of zirconia will increase the electrochemical performance of gel valve-regulated lead acid batteries.