Electrical conductivity of PbO and discharge property of thin film PbO2/PbO/Pb solid cell

In order to develop all solid state electrochemical cells, thin film PbO2/P bO/Pb solid cells were produced. All the constituents were systematically d eposited on a glass substrate by reactive sputtering and vacuum evaporation . The discharge properties of the solid cells were improved by the addition of a uni-valent impurity such as sodium or potassium to the PbO electrolyt e; the electromotive force of the solid cell using PbO-3.13 mass % Na2CO3 a s the electrolyte reached 69 % of the theoretical value during discharge. O n the ether hand, the presence of a tri-valent impurity such as antimony or bismuth in the electrolyte decreased the electromotive force. The electrol ytes with the uni-valent impurities bad a lower electronic conductivity com pared with the impurity-free PbO, while the electrolytes with the tri-valen t impurities had a higher one. These results were interpreted by a point de fect model of oxygen ion vacancies which are the dominant defects in the Pb O electrolyte; the uni-valent impurities increase the concentration of the vacancies to improve the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte. Also, the d ischarge reactions at both interfaces of PbO2/PbO and PbO/Pb were determine d by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.