Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Corrosion seems to be a continuous problem for alkaline batteries that in my mind then leads to premature failure and disposal of some many batteries (partly because there is recommendations out there to not mix new and old batteries) So if one goes bad it might mean throwing away 4. This got me to this question, Is there a way to prevent or delay this corrosion from happening. For instance, Wondering if the use of a dab of dielectric grease on the end of each battery might offer some prevention. Just searching for ‘preventing aa battery corrosion’ seemed unhelpful. Thanks.

Hello, you can first research the causes of battery corrosion. That would give you ideas of potential ways to solve the problem.

Good point and I have done some of this research that led me to the thought that a coating of grease might be a solution. I understand as some batteries ages they expand and cause corrosive gas and/or acid to escape and react with unprotected metals outside the of the battery. My hypothesis is that the grease might allow the gas to escape while protecting the adjacent metals. I think this strategy is commonly used on automotive batteries, I just have not run across a reference to this on smaller electronics. Thanks for your reply and hope others will chime in.

Hi - this forum is specifically for K-12 students working on a science project, not general science questions. You will have more luck if you post your question on a more appropriate forum (e.g. Reddit or Stackexchange).