STABLE SILVER OCIDE (AGO) BATTERY ELECTRODE

SILVER OXIDE-ZINC BATTERIES ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR HIGH ENERGY AND POWER DENSITY AND ARE USED IN LIGHTWEIGHT RADIO AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT, SUBMARINES, TORPEDOES AND SPACE APPLICATIONS. AS A PRIMARY RESERVE BATTERY, THIS SYSTEM FINDS APPLICATION IN MISSILES AND OTHER AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS. THIS PHASE I PROPOSAL AIMS TO IMPROVE THE CHEMICAL STABILITY OF DIVALENT SILVER OXIDE ELECTRODES USED PARTICULARLY IN PRIMARY BATTERIES OF THE RESERVE TYPE. THE APPROACH IS TO MINIMIZE THE TRANSITION METAL IMPURITIES IN THE POSITIVE PLATE AND TO IMPLEMENT THE HIGH-TEMPERATURE ELECTROCHEMICAL AGO FORMATION PROCESS RECENTLY DEVELOPED AT NSWC. BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OBTAINED IN LAB-SCALE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROCESS, CONDITIONS AND DESIGN REQUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT FOR PILOT-SCALE MANUFACTURE OF STABLE AGO CATHODES WILL BE PROJECTED. IF THE PHASE I PROGRAM OBJECTIVES ARE MET, THEN IN PHASE II, A PILOT SCALE IMPLEMENTATION WILL BE TESTED BY ASSEMBLING FULL BATTERIES AND CONDUCTING DISCHARGE TESTS AFTER APPROPRIATE AGING.