IN THE PROPOSED PROGRAM THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE CAPACITY OFF LITHIUM CELLS WITH CARBON CATHODES AND 1, 3-DIOXOLANE-BASED ELECTROLYTES WILL BE DETERMINED.

IN THE PROPOSED PROGRAM THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE CAPACITY OFF LITHIUM CELLS WITH CARBON CATHODES AND 1, 3-DIOXOLANE-BASED ELECTROLYTES WILL BE DETERMINED. INITIAL DATA SHOW THAT THIS LI/DIOX/C CELL WILL BE A PRIMARY LITHIUM BATTERY WITH THE RATE CAPABILITY AND DISCHARGE CAPACITY OF A LI/SOC12 BATTERY BUT WITH A NON-CORROSIVE ELECTROLYTE AND 25% SECONDARY CAPACITY. THIS NEW CLASS OF LITHIUM BATTERIES WILL PROVIDE NASA WITH A PRACTICAL LONG-LIFE, HIGH POWER/ENERGY DENSITY, SAFE POWER SOURCE FOR USE IN SPACE. THE MAJOR OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAM IS TO DETERMINE HOW CARBON-ELECTROLYTE-SOLUTE INTERACTIONS AFFECT THE EXTENT OF REVERSIBLE LITHIUM INTERCALATION AND THE CATHODE POTENTIAL ON DISCHARGE. A SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO DETERMINE THE PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF LITHIUM CELLS WHICH UTILIZE CARBON CATHODES AND 1,3-DIOXOLANE-BASED CATHOLYTES. THE MAJOR ADVANTAGES OF THE USE OF THESE CELL COMPONENTS ARE INCREASED CELL SAFETY, LOWER COSTS, LOWER CORROSION HAZARD ON CELL RUPTURE, AND SIGNIFICANT SECONDARY CAPACITY IN A HIGH-RATE PRIMARY CELL. THE PROGRAM APPROACH IS TO SCREEN A NUMBER OF 1,3-DIOXOLANE-BASED CATHOLYTES AND CARBON TYPES BY CV, IDENTIFY THE BEST COMBINATIONS, AND EVALUATE THE BEST COMBINATIONS IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CELLDISCHARGE TESTS.