Characterization of poly(vinyl chloride) aged in a bromine containing electrolyte

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6891915

Arnold, C Jr; Leo, A; Tarjani, M

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is being considered for use as a flow frame material in a developmental zinc/bromine battery. The choice of PVC was based on its low cost and the ease with which it can be molded into complex parts. The electrolyte used in this battery is a highly corrosive mixture of bromine, zinc bromide, zinc chloride, potassium bromide, potassium chloride and a quaternary amine salt. The quaternary salt serves to reduce the concentration of free bromine in the electrolyte by virtue of its complexing capability. It is well known that aqueous bromine is capable of oxidizing organic compounds. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of a bromine electrolyte on two PVC formulations, PVC-1 and PVC-4. PVC-1 is the designation given to one of B.F. Goodrich's commercial formulations and is the present baseline material for the flow frame. PVC-4 is an experimental B.F. Goodrich formulation that was developed especially for battery applications. We sought answers to such questions as (1) does oxidation and/or bromination take place. (2) does bromine penetrate into the sample and, if so, how far. (3) how are the mechanical and morphological properties affected. and (4) are there differences in stability between PVC-1 and PVC-4. To accelerate the aging processes we aged the PVC samples at an elevated temperature in an electrolyte which did not contain any complexing agent. 5 refs., 6 figs.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6891915
• Report Number(s): SAND-88-0901C; CONF-880912-2; ON: TI88008338
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
250901 -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Design & Development
250903* -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Materials
Components
& Auxiliaries
AGING
BATTERY SEPARATORS
BROMINE
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
DIFFUSION
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELECTROLYTES
ELEMENTS
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HALOGENS
METAL-NONMETAL BATTERIES
NONMETALS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
OXIDATION
PERMEABILITY
POLYMERS
POLYVINYLS
PVC
SORPTION
TESTING
ZINC-BROMINE BATTERIES