Discharge characteristics of lithium/molten nitrate thermal battery cells using silver salts as solid cathode materials

Thermal battery cells using molten nitrate electrolytes and liquid lithium anodes have been evaluated using several silver salts with low solubility in molten nitrates as solid cathode materials. These cathode materials do not readily diffuse into the anolyte and, thus, do not have parasitic reactions with the lithium anode. Furthermore, the solid cathode materials have voltammetric characteristics as favorable as many soluble silver salt cathodes. This paper presents the effects of temperature, current density, and cathode material on cell discharge characteristics.