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Using MgO fibers to immobilize molten electrolyte in thermal batteries

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Abstract

In this study, MgO fibers were used to immobilize the molten electrolyte in thermal batteries, which replaced the current MgO powders. MgO fibers were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. Solvent concentration was found to influence the aspect ratio of MgO fiber regularly. A lower concentration led to a larger aspect ratio. The effects of fiber’s aspect ratio on the electrolyte (LiCl-KCl) leakage, discharge properties, and ionic conductivity of model cell were evaluated. The higher the fiber aspect ratio was, the lower the molten electrolyte leakage was. The electrolyte leakage of pellet using fiber was obviously lower than that using powder. Moreover, during the discharge process, the cell using fiber maintained a longer discharge time than that using powder, while the ionic conductivities were very close. The well performance of MgO fiber-filled cell was due to its dimensional stability and large contact area with molten electrolyte, which was generated from low aggregation and similar net structure.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the NSAF of China (Grant No. U1430108).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, People’s Republic of China

    Ping Zhang, Jingsong Liu & Hongtao Yu

  2. Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621900, People’s Republic of China

    Zhaotang Yang & Xiaojiang Liu

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  1. Ping Zhang
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  2. Jingsong Liu
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  3. Zhaotang Yang
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  4. Xiaojiang Liu
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  5. Hongtao Yu
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Correspondence to Jingsong Liu.

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Zhang, P., Liu, J., Yang, Z. et al. Using MgO fibers to immobilize molten electrolyte in thermal batteries. J Solid State Electrochem 20, 1355–1360 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3136-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3136-4

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