Molten Halide Salt Electrolytes in Low-Temperature Na-Based Liquid Metal Batteries

Kurzfassung

One of the major challenges for development of low-cost low-temperature Na-based LMBs is selection of the molten salt electrolytes with the best thermo-chemical properties (melting temperature, corrosivity, Na solubility regarding self-discharge) and the lowest cost. In this work, current research progress on selection of the best molten salt electrolytes for low-cost low-temperature (<450°C) Na-based LMBs will be presented. The commercial software for thermodynamic calculations – FactSage® is used to simulate the phase diagrams of molten halogen salts for screening the promising electrolytes. Furthermore, thermo-analysis via Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), immersion tests of alloy samples, and Na solubility measurements are performed to evaluate the selected molten salt electrolytes experimentally. The selected best molten salt electrolyte will be tested in the Na-based LMB test cell.