Page 379 - Lindens Handbook of Batteries

14.44 PriMAry BATTerieS

FIGURE 14.34 Cross section of lithium/oxychloride cell. (Courtesy of Electrochem
Solutions Div. Greatbatch Ltd.)

also available in the AA size containing 0.5 g of Li and in flat disk-shaped cells. Figure 14.34 shows
a partial cutaway view of a typical cell. Table 14.17 lists several different lithium-oxychloride bat-
teries manufactured and their key characteristics. Two types of halogen-additive lithium/oxychloride
batteries have been developed, as follows:
Li/SOCl System with BrCl Additive (BCX). This battery has an open-circuit voltage of 3.9 V and
2
an energy density of up to 1070 Wh/L at 20°C. The BrCl additive is used to enhance the performance.
The cells are fabricated by winding the lithium anode, the carbon cathode, and two layers of a separa-
tor of nonwoven glass into a cylindrical roll and packaging them in an hermetically sealed can with a
glass-to-metal feed-through. The performance of the D-size battery at various temperatures and dis-
charge rates is shown in Fig. 14.35. The discharge curves are relatively flat with a working voltage of
about 3.5 V. The batteries are capable of performance over the temperature range of -55 to 72°C. The
capacity loss is rated at 3%/yr at 25°C. Capacity loss on storage is higher than with lithium systems
using thionyl chloride only.
The addition of BrCl to the depolarizer may also prevent the formation of sulfur as a discharge
product, at least in the early stage of the discharge, and minimize the hazards of the Li/SOCl
2
battery attributable to sulfur or discharge intermediates. The cells show abuse resistance
when subjected to the typical tests, such as short circuit, forced discharge, and exposure to high
temperatures. 37
Li/SO Cl with Cl Additive (CSC). This battery has an open-circuit voltage of 3.9 V and an energy
2
2
2
density of up to 1050 Wh/L. The additive is used to decrease the voltage-delay characteristic of the
lithium/oxyhalide cells. The typical operating temperature of these cells is -20 to 93°C. The cylindri-
cal cells are designed in the same structure as those shown in Fig. 14.34.