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In this paper, porous MgO pompons as the binder for thermal battery were prepared by a hydrothermal method and a followed sintering process. The composition, morphology, and pore size distribution of the prepared sample, mixing method of binder and electrolyte, and the electrochemical performances of the corresponding single thermal cell were characterized and compared in detail. The results show that the prepared porous MgO pompons show an average pore size of 0.2063 μm. Compared with stirring mixing, mixing the binder and electrolyte by using the liquid nitrogen method is a better way to prepare the electrolyte and binder (EB) mixture, and uniform distribution of the electrolyte on the surface of porous MgO pompons is achieved. The obtained porous MgO pompons show a significant better ability to immobilize the binary LiCl-KCl electrolyte than commercially available MgO powder. Consequently, the discharge capacity and conductivity of the corresponding battery are also greater, 363.57 mAh·g−1 and 0.976 S·cm−1 respectively. The conclusions show that porous MgO pompons are a promising binder material for thermal batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, MgO fibers were used to immobilize the molten electrolyte in thermal batteries, which replaced the current MgO powders. MgO fibers were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. Solvent concentration was found to influence the aspect ratio of MgO fiber regularly. A lower concentration led to a larger aspect ratio. The effects of fiber's aspect ratio on the electrolyte (LiCl-KCl) leakage, discharge properties, and ionic conductivity of model cell were evaluated. The higher the fiber aspect ratio was, the lower the molten electrolyte leakage was. The electrolyte leakage of pellet using fiber was obviously lower than that using powder. Moreover, during the discharge process, the cell using fiber maintained a longer discharge time than that using powder, while the ionic conductivities were very close. The well performance of MgO fiber-filled cell was due to its dimensional stability and large contact area with molten electrolyte, which was generated from low aggregation and similar net structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, single-phase pyrite with different particle sizes is prepared by hydrothermal method with the reactants of NaS, S, and FeSO. Compared with natural pyrite powder, synthesized pyrite nanocubes with small particle sizes and fine distribution have lower resistance, higher specific capacity and power density during the discharging process. The enlarging contacting surface area of pyrite with electrolytes will reduce the concentration polarization caused by the discharging current and improve the utilization efficiency of the pyrite materials. When pulse currents are loaded, compared with natural pyrite single-cell thermal battery, synthetic ones have smaller voltage drops and higher power density during the pulse discharging process. Influences of particle sizes on the thermal stability of the pyrite powders have also been investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]