Thermal abuse studies on lithium ion rechargeable batteries

Abstract

The thermal stability of Li-ion cells with intercalating carbon anodes and metal oxide cathodes was measured as a function of state of charge and temperature for two advanced cell chemistries. Cells of the 18650 design with Li/sub x/CoO/sub 2/ cathodes (commercial SONY cells) and Li/sub x/Ni/sub 0.85/Co/sub 0.15/O/sub 2/ cathodes were measured for thermal reactivity in the open circuit cell condition. Calorimetric techniques of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC) were used to characterize these cells in both full cell configuration and as individual electrode components. The effects of thermal aging on cell thermal response were also investigated.