Primary Batteries

This chapter introduces the predecessors of today's batteries and describes a selection of the main battery systems in detail. The zinc-based cell is not only the first industrial prototype battery invented but also one of today's most widely used batteries, due to its low production cost. In the first zinc-based cell the anode was zinc–amalgam, instead of pure zinc and the cathode contained manganese dioxide and carbon; this was the famous Leclanché cell. The improvements that were performed on zinc–carbon batteries to make them more efficient resulted in the development of alkaline-manganese dioxide batteries, which are the most common commercial dry cells today. In addition to cylindrical batteries, there is another category of battery shape that is known as a button battery. The first Li primary battery was commercially available in the form of a cylindrical lithium (anode)/manganese dioxide (cathode) cell by Sanyo Electric Co. in 1975.