This project aims to develop high-performance lithium batteries for extreme low-temperature operation. Unlike conventional cells that use liquid electrolytes which suffer from largely reduced ionic…

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) was awarded a $600,000 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop high-performance lithium batteries for extreme low-temperature operation. The project aims to create porous materials like mesoporous silica, zeolites, and metal-organic frameworks that can host liquefied hydrofluorocarbon electrolytes and maintain electrochemical and mechanical stability at low temperatures. This approach could enable lithium batteries to function in extreme cold environments, such as aerospace applications. The grant does not have a set-aside designation. As the prime grantee, UCSD will leverage its expertise in porous materials and lithium-ion chemistry to fabricate and test the new battery technology. The State of California Controller's Office provides administrative oversight for UCSD as a state university system.

This project aims to develop high-performance lithium batteries for extreme low-temperature operation. Unlike conventional cells that use liquid electrolytes which suffer from largely reduced ionic conductivity (10 times as pore size decreases from 7 to 1 NM. Similar trend has also been observed for methane. While capillary condensation of hydrofluorocarbon has not been systematically studied yet, by applying similar principle, we expect that the operating pressure required to condense hydrofluorocarbon will be reduced to 0.08-0.34 MPA, approaching ambient pressure. The key is to create porous structures that can host these molecules and maintain electrochemical and mechanical stability in cells. The most promising porous structures need to have sub-10 NM pores to allow a significantly reduced operating vapor pressure compared with normal conditions. The focus of such materials includes mesoporous silica, zeolites and metal-organic frameworks. Besides having small pores (0.5~10 NM), these materials have previously been either used as electrolyte additive or as the host for liquid electrolytes, confirming their compatibility with lithium chemistry. Nanoporous electrodes (e.g. MNO2, LICOO2,SNO2) can be also developed in the PI's lab using established methods. The PI will leverage his experience in porous materials to make a broad range of host materials to for testing hydrofluorocarbon condensation at ambient pressure. The liquefied electrolyte (hydrofluorocarbon trapped in hosts) and porous electrodes will be used for lithium cell fabrication and electrochemical characterization. The success of this project will generate a new class of lithium batteries with high performance at extreme low temperature. The use of mechanically stable porous hosts as the gas electrolyte matrixes may restrict the dendrite growth in anode, a major problem for lithium batteries at low temperatures. These features together will make our cells promising for use in extreme cold environments, for example, in aerospace applications.