The effect of post-treatment on the composition of formed negative electrode mass in lead acid batteries studied by XRD

•Formed negative electrodes for lead-acid cells were washed with deionized water and ethanol.•Washed electrodes were dried at ambient atmosphere and nitrogen.•XRD measurement showed that post-treatment changes in structure are strongly dependent on solvent used.•XRD revealed that inert atmosphere itself does not inhibit structural changes in electrode.•Only washing in ethanol can preserve the electrode structure from post-treatment changes.