Porous electrodes and method of making same

A method for forming a porous, self-supporting, structurally integral and electrically continuous electrode for use in lead-acid storage cells and lead-acid storage batteries, which method conprises:

• (a) forming a molten mixture of a metal and a pore form, ing component wherein said pore forming component is distributed as discrete particulate matter throughout said molten mixture, said metal being selected from the group consisting of lead and lead alloys, and said pore forming component being selected from the group consisting of:
• 1. cadmium, gallium, thallium, zinc, and mixture thereof
• 2. alkali metal carbonate, alkali metal bicarbonate, lead carbonate, and basic lead carbonate and mixture thereof;
• 3. camphor, urea, and mixtures thereof;
• and
• (b) cooling and forming said molten mixture into a solid electrode structure having predetermined dimensions and configuration, with said pore forming component being distributed throughout the resultant solid metallic electrode;
• (c) removing said particulate pore forming component from said solid electrode thereby forming the porous electrode;
• and
• (d) subjecting said porous electrode structure to an oxidizing environment to form a layer of an electrochemically active material in situ on the walls of said metal within said pores.