[Duracell battery] Primary Battery Types

Adapted from Horowitz and Hill, "The Art of Electronics" (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1989), pg. 922.
Also, see system comparisons at the Duracell OEM site.

Type   Advantages   Disadvantages
 
Zinc-carbon
(LeClanche)
"standard" 		  Least expensive.
Widely available. 		  Lowest energy density.
Sloping discharge curve.
Poor high-current performance.
Internal resistance increases as discharged.
Poor low-temperature performance.
 
Zinc-carbon
(zinc-chloride) 		  Less expensive than alkaline.
Better than LeClanche at high current and low temp. 		  Low energy density.
Sloping discharge curve.
 
Alkaline
manganese
"alkaline" 		  Moderate cost.
Better than zinc chloride at high current and low temp.
Maintains low internal resistance as discharged.
Moderate energy density.
Widely available. 		  Sloping discharge curve.
 
Lithium
oxyhalide
"lithium" 		  High energy density.
Highest energy density per unit weight.
Flat discharge curve.
Excellent at high and low temp.
Extraordinary shelf life.
Light weight.
High cell voltage (3.0V). 		  Expensive.

"http://www.physics.udel.edu/~watson/scen103/battdata2.html"
Last updated Feb. 1, 1999.
Copyright George Watson, Univ. of Delaware, 1996.