Performance of thermal cells and batteries made with plasma-sprayed cathodes and anodes

Guidotti, Ronald A.; Reinhardt, Frederick W.; Dai, Jinchuan; Reisner, David

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2006.02.025

Cited by 51 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Battery stack slippage has been observed in some shock tests, possibly because of this. Furthermore, material movement in thin separator pellets over long discharge times could lead to a short circuit between the anode and cathode and potential thermal runaways (Guidotti & Reinhardt, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, pressed separator pellets are too brittle if made thin, so battery stack heights are difficult to reduce while maintaining power output, especially for the larger diameter batteries. Furthermore, material movement in thin separator pellets over long discharge times could lead to a short circuit between the anode and cathode and potential thermal runaways (Guidotti et al, 2006). Finally, stack slippage has been observed in some shock tests, possibly because of the lack of strength of the pressed separator pellets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sintered ceramic separators have been tested by Argonne National Laboratories and others (Bandyopadhyay 1982) and offer a promising means to replace MagLite S. However, it is difficult to obtain the high porosity needed in a separator, but low porosity materials yield batteries with high impedance caused by a lower electrolyte loading (Guidotti et al, 2006). On the other hand, rigid, highly porous ceramics filled with electrolyte could allow thinner, stronger, separator layers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New composite separator pellet to increase power density and reduce size of thermal batteries

Mondy

Roberts

Grillet

et al. 2013

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We show that it is possible to manufacture strong macroporous ceramic films that can be backfilled with electrolyte to form rigid separator pellets suitable for use in thermal batteries. Several new ceramic manufacturing processes are developed to produce sintered magnesium oxide foams with connected porosities of over 80% by volume and with sufficient strength to withstand the battery manufacturing steps. The effects of processing parameters are quantified, and methods to imbibe electrolyte into the ceramic scaffold demonstrated. Preliminary single cell battery testing show that some of our first generation pellets exhibit longer voltage life with comparable resistance at the critical early times to that exhibited by a traditional pressed pellets. Although more development work is needed to optimize the processes to create these rigid separator pellets, the results indicate the potential of such ceramic separator pellets to be equal, if not superior to, current pressed pellets. Furthermore, they could be a replacement for critical material that is no longer available, as well as improving battery separator strength, decreasing production costs, and leading to shorter battery stacks for long-life batteries. 4

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New composite separator pellet to increase power density and reduce size of thermal batteries

Mondy

Roberts

Grillet

et al. 2013

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“…Thermal batteries are an important power source for modern weapons and are widely used in nuclear weapons, guided missiles, and aerospace [5,6]. Over the years, researchers have studied different cathode materials [7][8][9][10][11], including FeS2 and CoS2 materials for various applications. They have been extensively studied and became the primary cathode materials in the thermal battery technology (Li-alloy/FeS2 and Li-alloy/CoS2 cells) [12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variable-temperature preparation and performance of NiCl2 as a cathode material for thermal batteries

Liu

et al. 2017

Sci. China Mater.

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Nickel(II) chloride materials were synthesized via a novel two-step variable-temperature method for the use as a cathode material in Li-B/NiCl2 cells with the LiCl-LiBrLiF electrolyte. The influence of temperature on its structure, surface morphology, and electrochemical performance was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrochemical measurements of single cells. XRD results showed that after pre-dehydration for 2 h at 270°C followed by sintering for 5 h at 600°C, the crystal water in nickel chloride hexahydrate could be removed effectively. The SEM results showed that particles recombined to form larger coarse particles and presented a layered structure. Discharge tests showed that the 600°C-treated materials demonstrated remarkable specific c apacities of 210.42 and 242.84 mA h g −1 at constant currents of 0.5 and 2.0 A, respectively. Therefore, the Li-B/NiCl2 thermal battery showed excellent discharge performance. The present work demonstrates that NiCl2 is a promising cathode material for thermal batteries and this two-step variable-temperature method is a simple and useful method for the fabrication of NiCl2 materials.

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“…[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Liu, 6 Masset, 20 Guidotti and Reinhardt et al 28 used 35 wt% of MgO powders as the immobilizing agent. Czajka et al 23 found that separator containing 40-50 wt% of modified MgO (MgF 2 -MgO) immobilizing agent demonstrated good effect but the low ionic conductivity is in the range of 0.02 to 0.04 S · cm −1 and the high mass ratio of the immobilizing agent leads to an increasing resistance and mass of the battery.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Porous Magnesia Fibers as an Immobilizing Agent for Molten Salt in Thermal Batteries

Liu

et al. 2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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In this work porous MgO fibers were investigated as an immobilizing agent in the solid molten salt electrolytes for thermal batteries. Their distribution, uniformity and electrochemical performance were characterized. Compared with ball-milling method, the use of liquid nitrogen as mixing medium resulted in an homogeneous distribution of molten salt particles on the surface of porous MgO fibers. The ionic conductivity of the separator using porous MgO fibers as an immobilizing agent is slightly higher than that of the separator when MgO powders were used as the immobilizing agent. Moreover, the discharge specific capacity of the battery using the porous MgO fibers, 564.39 mAh · g −1 , is significantly greater than that of the battery using MgO powders, 355.67 mAh · g −1 . More importantly, the electrolyte leakage content of the separator based on porous MgO fibers is also the lowest. Porous MgO fibers offer promising application in thermal batteries. Compared with conventional Li-ion batteries using electrolytes made from organic liquids or gels, 1-3 thermal batteries using solid molten salt electrolyte demonstrate some promising and potential applications in fields as diverse as nuclear weapons, 4,5 rocketry and fossil fuel production 6,7 due to high specific energy, wide temperature range and long storage capabilities. 8,9 However, in order to prevent leakage of the molten salt electrolyte during the operating temperature (350∼550• C) some immobilizing agents such as ceramic fibers, e.g., BN, Y 2 O 3 , SiO 2 and kaolin are usually added to the electrolyte. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] However, these immobilizing agents are hampered by limitations including low specific surface area, high cost and reaction with the electrodes.10,13 Magnesia (MgO) is an efficient material due to its low cost and chemical stability. Moreover, its solubility in molten salts is low: pK(MgO) = 7.2 in the LiCl-KCl eutectic at 450• C. 10 Thus, MgO powders, which are usually obtained by a thermal decomposition of magnesium hydroxide or magnesium carbonate hydroxide, 23 are widely employed as immobilizing agents in molten salt for thermal batteries, at 35-40 wt% loading.17-27 Liu, 6 Masset, 20 Guidotti and Reinhardt et al. 28 used 35 wt% of MgO powders as the immobilizing agent. Czajka et al. 23 found that separator containing 40-50 wt% of modified MgO (MgF 2 -MgO) immobilizing agent demonstrated good effect but the low ionic conductivity is in the range of 0.02 to 0.04 S · cm −1 and the high mass ratio of the immobilizing agent leads to an increasing resistance and mass of the battery.Consequently an immobilizing agent that can enhance the immobilizing effect and does not significantly reduce ionic conductivity is required. Compared with MgO powders, MgO fibers or porous MgO fibers result in an extensive network structure. The latter have additional complex pore structure. In principle porous MgO fibers can result in an enhanced immobilizing effect, decreased electrolyte leakage and usage compared with conventional MgO powders. At pres...

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Performance of thermal cells and batteries made with plasma-sprayed cathodes and anodes

Cited by 51 publications

References 0 publications

New composite separator pellet to increase power density and reduce size of thermal batteries

New composite separator pellet to increase power density and reduce size of thermal batteries

Variable-temperature preparation and performance of NiCl2 as a cathode material for thermal batteries

Porous Magnesia Fibers as an Immobilizing Agent for Molten Salt in Thermal Batteries

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