- Primary cells are non rechargeable cells, in which the
electrochemical reaction is irreversible. They contain only a
fixed amount of the reacting compounds and are discharged
only once.
ex) Alkaline Manganese Battery, Lithium primary Battery ,
Primary Zinc-Air Battery, Thermal Battery etc.
- Secondary cells are rechargeable several times.
Only reversible electrochemical reactions offer such a
possibility.
ex) Lead-acid Battery, Ni-Cd Battery, Ni-MH Battery,
Na-S Battery, Li-ion Battery, Polymer Battery, etc.
- Fuel cells, in contrast with the previous cells described
above, operate in a continuous process. The reactants -
nowadays often hydrogen and oxygen- must be fed continuously
into the cell from outside.
ex). DMFC, AFC, PEFC, PAFC, MCFC, SOFC etc.
- Physical battery : A battery that uses physical phenomena
ex) solar cells