While rechargeable batteries have been around for many years, their uses have not been quite widespread for that long. These days, rechargeable batteries have become an integral part of our daily lives.
Most portable appliances are nowadays run by a certain rechargeable battery. A rechargeable battery like EBL 18650 battery supplied by EBL is a kind of electrical battery, which is comprised of either one or more than one electrochemical cell.
After the cell’s stored charge will be fully drained, the chemical reactions of batteries can occur again, to store a certain new charge. The demand for these rechargeable batteries has been growing faster than the demand for any non-rechargeable batteries. Also, such batteries have a much lower environmental impact than any disposable batteries.
How a rechargeable battery works? What does any charger do? Let us discuss briefly the basics of these rechargeable batteries. Before that let us try to know a few key information about these batteries.
- Rechargeable batteries will store energy via a certain reversible chemical reaction that permits storing of charge after the battery gets discharged.
- Rechargeable batteries have a lower ownership cost and have smaller environmental impacts as compared to disposable batteries which may explain why rechargeable battery demand is expanding significantly faster than non-rechargeable battery demand in the United States.
Few different rechargeable battery types
- Lead-acid batteries
- Nickel-metal hydride batteries
- Lithium-ion batteries
- Lithium-ion polymer batteries
- Alkaline batteries
A battery is generally made up of a few atoms. A single atom will be made up of 3 types of particles:
- Neutrons
- Protons denote positive
- Electrons denote negative
In any full battery, the negative terminal will be the anode, and the positive terminal will be the cathode. That is because anode will contain an excess of electrons, and the cathode will lack electrons. Naturally, then the anode would like to lose a few of its electrons and pass to the cathode the excess electrons.
How a rechargeable battery works?
Every battery will work in this way – the electrons will travel from anode to cathode as long as the anode will be fully out of electrons. In this way, the battery will become empty or ‘dead’.
That will be the end of life for the battery with primary batteries. With secondary or any rechargeable batteries, using a charger electron flow can be reversed and that can restore the initial condition where anode will have an excess of electrons and create what is called a charged battery.
The chemicals employed in the battery determine whether or not this process may be reversed. For example, alkaline batteries are not designed to allow for reverse flow. It is possible that doing so will put you in danger.
A Nickel-Metal Hybride (Ni MH) battery will allow forced reverse flow. The process may, however, cause certain chemical damage over time. Therefore, you cannot recharge your battery infinitely and deplete batteries as at some point, its chemicals may get degraded too much.
The total lifespan of any rechargeable battery will depend on the manufacturer and the conditions how it is used.
