Gassner used zinc as the container to house the cell’s other components; at the same time, he used the sealed zinc container as the anode. The cathode surrounded a carbon rod. Gassner also added zinc chloride to the electrolyte, which markedly reduced corrosion of the zinc when the cell was idle and added considerably to its shelf life.
Carl Gassner was born on November 17, 1855 in Mainz, Germany. As a physician, scientist and inventor, his life was truly filled with success and fame. He earned his degree in medicine at the University of Strasbourg in Mainz. In the years after his studies, he became well-known for performing several scientific tests and experiments.
It was in 1885 when Gassner was put into the limelight when he started doing improvements in the Leclanché cell, the battery used to power door bells at that time. He first used gypsum as a porous binder that holds the aqueous chemicals in the said battery. In 1886, he began his invention by further improving the features of the dry cell battery.
In 1885, Gassner also decided to modify the Leclanché cell by immobilising the liquid electrolyte in plaster of Paris used as a porous binder, to which he added hydrophilic chemicals and zinc chloride.
The text of the plaque commemorating the landmark reads: In 1896 the National Carbon Company (corporate predecessor of Energizer) developed the six-inch, 1.5 volt Columbia battery, the first sealed dry cell successfully manufactured for the mass market.
In 1866, Georges Leclanché invented a battery that consists of a zinc anode and a manganese dioxide cathode wrapped in a porous material, dipped in a jar of ammonium chloride solution. The manganese dioxide cathode has a little carbon mixed into it as well, which improves conductivity and absorption.
Carl Gassner was a German physician (17 November 1855 in Mainz – 31 January 1942), scientist and inventor, better known to have contributed to improve the Leclanché cell and to have fostered the development of the first dry cell, also known as the zinc–carbon battery, less likely to break or leak and that could be effectively industrially produced at large scale.