Low-Temperature Capable Polymer Battery

This proposal presents a baseline cell technology which utilizes the Mesocarbon Microbead ed with treated amorphous fumed silica, and high-energy LiCoO2 as the cathode. The performance capability of this baseline cell was ambly demonstrated with respect to reproducibility, rate, 0¿C performance, and cycle life at 100% depth. It is proposed that this baseline cell will be used to further advance the low temperature performance of the proposed polymer technology. The objective is to extend the performance at low temperature from O¿C to -45¿C. Four tasks are proposed to achieve and demonstrate the accomplishments: Task I - Electrolyte Improvement, A novel approach is proposed in which toluene is used as the major component of the liquid with smaller additions of other liquids such as EC, PC, or BL. Target objective is improved solution conducitivity; (2) Task 11 Anode Improvement. A novel approach to synthesize a composite anode material that has a graphite core and a carbon shell structure. This type of composite is considered to be more rate capable than the baseline MCMB carbon- and (3) Task III - Cathode Improvement. The novel use of active cathode material in a carbon-webbed matrix to increase the utilization of the active material is proposed for this task-, and, finally, Task IV - 300 mAh Cell Performance Demonstrations. BENEFITS: Significant improvement in low-temperature performance for all types of Li-ion rechargeable batteries inparticular, and rate improvement in general/all portable devices and equipments, and wireless communication devices.