Enhanced Nanostructuring of Iron Disulfide for Thermal Battery Cathode Materials

摘要

For the U.S. Army, the power requirements for guided precision munitions are increasing. Thermal batteries will need to supply a significantly higher level of power to the electronics, fuze, and actuation components of future munitions, while at the same time occupying less volume. The use of Nanomaterials offers the potential to produce batteries with performance improvements, such as higher voltages and increased current densities. Thermal batteries manufactured today can benefit from performance improvements. Understanding the potential and capabilities of nanoscale materials in thermal batteries is critical in pushing the state-of-the art. In this study, nanoscale iron disulfide (FeS_2) was synthesized using a fully scalable method, and characterized utilizing SEM, XRD, XRF, BET, EDS, and other techniques. Current FeS_2 powder used in thermal battery cathodes has nominal particle size of 44 microns in diameter. By reducing this size to the nanoscale, performance improvements are expected. However, the challenge in synthesizing nanoscale FeS_2 is maintaining the proper stoichiometric ratio for optimal performance. This study successfully used high energy milling to produce kilogram quantities of acceptable FeS_2 powder for cathode use in thermal batteries, and can be applied to other potential nanoscale cathode material candidates.