Publications

Review of US Nanocorp - SNL Joint Development of Thermal-Sprayed Thin-Film Cathodes for Thermal Batteries

Guidotti, Ronald A.; Reinhardt, Frederick W.

The use of plasma spray to deposit thin metal-sulfide cathode films is described in this paper. Conventional electroactive stack components in thermal batteries are constructed from pressed-powder parts that are difficult to fabricate in large diameters in thicknesses <0.010. Plasma-sprayed electrodes do not steer from this difficulty, allowing greater energy densities and specific energies to be realized. Various co-spraying agents have been found suitable for improving the mechanical as well as electrochemical properties of plasma-sprayed cathodes for thermal batteries. These electrodes generally show equal or improved performance over conventional pressed-powder electrodes. A number of areas for future growth and development of plasma-spray technology is discussed.