The United States of America As Represented by the United States

John A Smaga

James E Battles

Thomas D Kaun

Franklin C Mrazek

Neil C Otto

Barry T Warner

A lithium alloy/metal sulfide battery as a dipolar battery is disclosed with an array of stacked cells with the anode and cathode electrode materials in each cell sealed in a confining structure and separated from one another except across separator material interposed therebetween. The separator material is contained in a module having separate perforated metallic sheets that sandwich opposite sides of the separator material for the cell and an annular insulating spacer that surrounds the separator material beyond the perforations and is also sandwiched between and sealed to the sheets. The peripheral edges of the sheets project outwardly beyond the spacer, traverse the side edges of the adjacent electrode material to form cup-like electrode holders, and are fused to the adjacent current collector or end face members of the array. Electrolyte is infused into the electrolyte cavity through the perforations of one of the metallic sheets with the perforations also functioning to allow ionic conductance across the separator material between the adjacent electrodes. A gas-tight housing provides an enclosure of the array.

Bipolar battery with array of sealed cells

The corrosion rate of low carbon steel within a positive electrode of a high-temperature, secondary electrochemical cell that includes FeS as active material is substantially reduced by incorporating therein finely divided iron powder in stoichiometric excess to the amount required to form FeS in the fully charged electrode. The cell typically includes an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal as negative electrode active material and a molten metal halide salt as electrolyte. The excess iron permits use of inexpensive carbon steel alloys that are substantially free of the costly corrosion resistant elements chromium, nickel and molybdenum while avoiding shorten cell life resulting from high corrosion rates.

Corrosion resistant positive electrode for high-temperature, secondary

A positive electrode for a secondary electrochemical cell wherein an electrically conductive current collector is in electrical contact with a particulate mixture of gray cast iron and an alkali metal sulfide and an electrolyte including alkali metal halides or alkaline earth metal halides. Also present may be a transition metal sulfide and graphite flakes from the conversion of gray cast iron to iron sulfide. Also disclosed is a method of distributing carbon flakes in a cell wherein there is formed an electrochemical cell of a positive electrode structure of the type described and a suitable electrolyte and a second electrode containing a material capable of alloying with alkali metal ions. The cell is connected to a source of electrical potential to electrochemically convert gray cast iron to an iron sulfide and uniformly to distribute carbon flakes formerly in the gray cast iron throughout the positive electrode while forming an alkali metal alloy in the negative electrode. Also disclosed are compositions useful in preparing positive electrodes.

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Lemont, IL, United States of America

John A Smaga