Zirconium Trisulfide as a Promising Cathode Material for Li Primary Thermal Batteries

Abstract

In this work ZrS3 has been synthesized by solid state reaction in a sealed quartz tube and investigated as a candidate cathode material in Li thermal batteries. The structure of ZrS3 before and after cell testing has been studied using powder X-ray diffraction. A new spinel related material, LiZr2S4, has been identified as the product of the electrochemical process, which can be indexed to a = 10.452(8) Å cubic unit cell. The electrochemical properties of the batteries were investigated at 500°C against Li13Si4 by galvanostatic discharge and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT). In a thermal Li cell at 500°C a single voltage plateau of 1.70 V at a current density of 11 mA/cm2 was achieved with capacity of 357 mA h g−1. Therefore ZrS3 material has some promise as a cathode for Li thermal batteries.

Photodecoloration of Methyl Orange Solution Assisted by ZrS3 Powders

“…2). Positions of some observable reflections were as follows: 2θ 9.97° (001), 20.01° (002), 35.45° (200), 40.55° (004), 43.59° (211), 50.42° (020), 62.99° (006). Small quantity of unreacted metal zirconium was found in ZrS3-350 (2θ 36.6°).…”

“…Probably our ZrS3 samples have such a sulfur deficiency due to synthetic procedure: only 3 equivalents of S were taken for reaction per one equivalent of Zr. Crystals of zirconium trisulfide with formulae very close to ZrS3 are synthesized in gas-transport reactions with some excess of sulfur [35], longer heating, or the stoichiometric mixture which was heated at higher temperature (1000°C) [35], or applied transport species (for example, bromine) [36].…”

Recent Progress in Cathode Materials for Thermal Batteries

“…Irvine et al investigated ZrS 3 as a possible cathode material for use in thermal batteries. 31 ZrS 3 has a pseudo one-dimensional structure (Fig. 18(a)).…”

“…In addition to studies on optimizing electrode fabrication using FeS 2 , [10][11][12][13][14][15] studies have been conducted on the use of materials such as CoS 2 , [16][17][18][19][20][21] NiS 2 , [22][23][24] NiCl 2 , [25][26][27][28] CuVO, [29][30] and others. [31][32][33] Masset et al cited the following key properties to be considered as cathode materials for thermal batteries: 4) • Redox potential: it should have a discharge potential that is compatible with the electrochemical window of the electrolyte in order to prevent oxidation. • Ability to provide a fixed discharge plateau: it should undergo multiphase discharge and not intercalation.…”

Binder-Free Cathode for Thermal Batteries Fabricated Using FeS2 Treated Metal Foam

“…Thermal batteries are potential power sources for nuclear weapons and warhead missiles and are used in aerospace applications owing to their excellent mechanical properties, reliability, and low self-discharge characteristics (Guidotti and Masset, 2006;Kang et al, 2016;Jin et al, 2018). Cathodes of commercial thermal batteries are fabricated using transition metals such as FeS 2 , CoS 2 , and NiS 2 ; their anodes are fabricated with Li-alloys (Li-Si and Li-Al); and a eutectic mixture of LiCl-KCl, which exists in the molten state at the operating temperature of thermal batteries (∼500 • C), is used as the electrolyte (Guidotti and Masset, 2008;Masset and Guidotti, 2008a;Giagloglou et al, 2016). Although the electrochemical properties of CoS 2 and NiS 2 are similar to those of FeS 2 , sulfur exhibits a high loss rate when it encounters electrolytic salts (Preto et al, 1983).…”