THE PROPOSED PROGRAM RELATES TO THE EVALUATION OF THE POTENTIAL OF A NEW CLASS OF CATHODE MATERIALS FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE/ENERGYDENSITY LITHIUM SECONDARY BATTERIES.

THE PROPOSED PROGRAM RELATES TO THE EVALUATION OF THE POTENTIAL OF A NEW CLASS OF CATHODE MATERIALS FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE/ENERGYDENSITY LITHIUM SECONDARY BATTERIES. AN IMPROVED SECONDARY BATTERY WILL PROVIDE THE NAVY WITH A SAFE AND RELIABLE POWER SOURCE FOR PORTABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, REMOTE SENSORS, AND OTHER ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT. THE MAJOR OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAM IS TO DETERMINE THE LITHIATION CAPACITY AND REVERSIBILITY OF FOUR FUNCTIONALIZED TETRAAZAANNULENES (TAAS). A SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO BETTER CHARACTERIZE THE INTERCALATION REACTIONS OF LITHIUM WITH ORGANOMETALLIC COMPOUNDS. THE MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF USING SUCH ORGANOMETALLIC MATERIALS IS THEIR ABILITY TO INTERCALATE UP TO 17 EQUIVALENTS OF LITHIUM. THE PROGRAM APPROACH IS TO PREPARE FOUR FUNCTIONALIZED TAAS, DETERMINE THEIR CAPACITY FOR REVERSIBLE LITHIATION, AND TO CHARACTERIZE THE LITHIATED AND UNLITHIATED COMPOUNDS BY IR, NMR AND X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY. THE USE OF TAAS IN SECONDARY LITHIUM BATTERIES IS A NEW APPROACH TO DEVELOPING HIGHER-ENERGY-DENSITY PORTABLE POWER SOURCES.