Sandia Corporation

Other

The United States of America As Represented by the United States

U.S. Nanocorp, Inc.

Ronald A Guidotti

Tongsan D Xiao

David E Reisner

Daniel H Doughty

Hui Ye

Frank M Delnick

William R Even, Jr

Jinxiang Dai

Frederick W Reinhardt

Arthur H Andazola

David K McCarthy

Thin cathodes are presented, For example, a cathode includes a substrate; and a layer of a nanostructured pyrite active material deposited on the substrate, wherein the layer of the nanostructured pyrite has a thickness in the range from about 1 to about 1000 microns. The cathodes find particular utility in thermal batteries.

Energy storage and conversion devices using thermal sprayed electrodes

A method for making a blended powder mixture, whereby two or more powders are mixed in a container with a liquid selected from nitrogen or short-chain alcohols, where at least one of the powders has an angle of repose greater than approximately 50 degrees. The method is useful in preparing blended powders of Li halides and MgO for use in the preparation of thermal battery separators.

Method to blend separator powders

Thin electrodes produced by thermal spray techniques are presented, wherein the thermal spray feedstock comprises an active material and a protective barrier coating. In a particularly advantageous feature, the active material feedstock is a metal sulfide, metal selenide, or metal telluride which ordinarily decomposes at thermal spray temperatures or which transforms to a material unsuitable for use as an electrode at thermal spray temperatures. The electrodes find particular utility in thermal batteries.

Thermally protective salt material for thermal spraying of electrode materials

An electrolyte system suitable for a molten salt electrolyte battery is described where the electrolyte system is a molten nitrate compound, an organic compound containing dissolved lithium salts, or a 1-ethyl-3-methlyimidazolium salt with a melting temperature between approximately room temperature and approximately 250&deg; C. With a compatible anode and cathode, the electrolyte system is utilized in a battery as a power source suitable for oil/gas borehole applications and in heat sensors.

Batteries using molten salt electrolyte

Disordered carbons were synthesized at 700&deg; C. from methacrylonitrile-divinylbenzene precursors. The disorder, even at the free surface, was confirmed with TEM. These powdered carbons were subjected to rapid surface heating by a pulsed infrared laser (59 MW pulses). While the bulk structure remained essentially unchanged, there was substantial &ldquo;surface reconstruction&rdquo; to a depth of 0.25 &mgr;m presumably due to ablation, re-deposition, and &ldquo;recrystallization&rdquo; of the surface carbon after heating by the laser. The surface ordering appears similar to the bulk microstructure of carbons isothermally annealed at 2,200&deg; C. (i.e., turbostatic). Improvements were observed in first cycle irreversible loss, rate capability, and coulombic efficiencies of the &ldquo;reconstructed&rdquo; carbons, relative to the untreated carbon.

Lithium intercalation carbon and method for producing same

In a method for preparing lithiated, particulate FeS.sub.2 useful as a catholyte material in a lithium thermal battery, whereby the latter's voltage regulation properties are improved, comprising admixing FeS.sub.2 and an amount of a lithium-containing compound whereby the resultant total composition falls in an invariant region of the metallurgical phase diagram of its constituent components, an improvement comprises admixing said lithium-containing compound and FeS.sub.2 together with a solid electrolyte compatible with said catholyte, and heating the mixture at a temperature above the melting point of said electrolyte and at which said mixture reaches its thermodynamic equilibrium number of phases.

Methods for achieving the equilibrium number of phases in mixtures

A cathode for use in a thermal battery, comprising a chromium (V) compound. The preferred materials for this use are Ca.sub.5 (CrO.sub.4).sub.3 Cl, Ca.sub.5 (CrO.sub.4).sub.3 OH, and Cr.sub.2 O.sub.5. The chromium (V) compound can be employed as a cathode material in ambient temperature batteries when blended with a suitably conductive filler, preferably carbon black.

Growing community of inventors

Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

Ronald A Guidotti