High-performance, long-life sodium/sulfur cells

Technical Report · Fri Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6009041

Viswanathan, L; McEntire, B J; Rasmussen, J R; Gordon, R S ^[1]

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1. Ceramatec, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT (USA)

This report describes the work performed by Ceramatec, Inc. to develop and test high-performance, durable beta{double prime}-alumina electrolytes for the sodium-sulfur battery. The work, from November 1, 1982 through February 28, 1987, focussed on two major tasks: enhancement of the fracture toughness and strength of beta{double prime}-alumina by the incorporation of a zirconium oxide second phase, and enhancement of the apparent ionic conductivity of the beta{double prime}-alumina by the addition of small amounts of selenium to the sodium electrode. Sodium-sodium and sodium-sulfur cell tests of electrolytes were performed to evaluate them under conditions of actual usage. From the experiments and tests conducted under this program, it was concluded that substantial improvements (up to 50%) in electrolyte strength and toughness were achievable through additions of zirconia. It was shown that partial stabilization of the zirconia was required to sufficiently minimize sensitivity to moisture degradation to allow practical cell fabrication. Cell lifetimes and durabilities were not enhanced. It was shown that cell resistance aging was reduced through the use of electrolytes containing zirconia additions. This presumably resulted from the zirconia acting as a scavenger which tied up leachable impurities within the ceramic, and thereby prevented them from accumulating at the interface between the electrolyte and the electrodes. The effect of selenium additions to the sodium electrode in reducing the apparent resistance was inconsistently reproducible. 24 refs., 32 figs., 18 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA); Ceramatec, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI; Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6009041
• Report Number(s): EPRI-GS-7229
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
250902 -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Performance & Testing
250903* -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Materials
Components
& Auxiliaries
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
CERAMICS
CHALCOGENIDES
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELECTROLYTES
FRACTURE PROPERTIES
IONIC CONDUCTIVITY
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
METAL-NONMETAL BATTERIES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PROGRESS REPORT
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SERVICE LIFE
SODIUM-SULFUR BATTERIES
SOLID ELECTROLYTES
TESTING
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
YTTRIUM COMPOUNDS
YTTRIUM OXIDES
ZIRCONIUM COMPOUNDS
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES