Lead-Acid Storage Battery

• Both the anode and the cathode are immersed in sulfuric acid, H2SO4.
• As electrical current is drawn from the battery, both the anode and the cathode become coated with PbSO4(s).
• If the battery is run for a long time without recharging, too much PbSO4(s) develops and the battery goes dead.
• Running electrical current through it in reverse recharges the battery.
• The electrical current has to come from an external source, such as an alternator in a car.
• This current causes the preceding reactions to occur in reverse, converting the PbSO4(s) back to Pb(s) and PbO2(s), recharging the battery.