A New Bonded Catalyst for Safe Lithium-Thionyl Chloride Batteries.

The goal of the research effort was to demonstrate that a new class of organometallic cathode catalysts, the TAAs, are stable in thionyl chloride and that they significantly improve the power performance of lithium-thionyl chloride primary batteries. A number of TAAs were evaluated and shown to be active catalysts. Included in this evaluation were TAAs which were covalently bonded to the supporting carbon electrode material a covalently bonded catalyst has the potential advantage that it will not dissolve into the electrolyte and negatively affect anode performance. During the six month research program, the TAAS were shown to significantly improve cathode performance in LiSOCl2 cells improve cathode capacity improve cathode performance throughout long-term tests and not affect anode performance. Further work is needed to develop data in cell studies on temperature range, shelf life, voltage delay effects, energypower density as a function of rate, and factors affecting electrode capacity. Battery performance in stress tests to develop safety and cost data is also needed.