Alkaline battery
Next, let’s see the better version of zinc-carbon battery. This is an Alkaline battery, which also uses the reaction between zinc metal and manganese dioxide.
But instead of the zinc chloride electrolyte of the zinc-carbon battery, the name alkaline battery comes from its alkaline electrolyte.
Even though they both provide the same battery, an alkaline battery has a higher energy density and longer shelf life compared to a zinc-carbon battery. That is why it is more commonly used nowadays compare to zinc-carbon batteries at places where they have similar usage.
Here is the construction of an alkaline battery, which is really similar to Zinc carbon battery:
Here is the chemical reaction for alkaline battery:
However, not everything is the best for alkaline batteries. Because it can easily leak potassium hydroxide, which can be a result of battery discharge from both usage or self-discharge over time. That is why we can find some weird liquid around the batteries inside an old device.
