Wicking nonwoven mat from wet-laid process

A lead-acid battery comprising:

• a positive electrode;
• a negative electrode;
• and
• a nonwoven fiber mat disposed adjacent the positive electrode or the negative electrode, wherein:
• the nonwoven fiber mat comprises a first plurality of first glass fibers having nominal diameters of less than 5 μm,
• the nonwoven fiber mat comprises a second plurality of second glass fibers having nominal diameters greater than 6 μm,
• the first plurality of first glass fibers comprises between about 10% and about 50% by weight of the combined weight of the first plurality of first glass fibers and the second plurality of second glass fibers,
• the nonwoven fiber mat comprises a binder composition,
• the nonwoven fiber mat has an average 40 wt. % sulfuric acid wick height of between about 1 cm and about 5 cm after exposure to 40 wt. % sulfuric acid for 10 minutes conducted according to method ISO8787, and
• the nonwoven fiber mat has a total normalized tensile strength of greater than 2 (lbf/in)/(lb/sq).