Description
The term "lithium battery" refers to a family of different chemistries, comprising many types of cathodes and electrolytes.
The most common type of lithium cell used in consumer applications uses metallic lithium as anode and manganese dioxide as cathode, with a salt of lithium dissolved in an organic solvent.
Another type of lithium cell having a large energy density is the lithium-thionyl chloride cell. Lithium-thionyl chloride batteries are generally not sold to the consumer market, and find more use in commercial/industrial applications, or are installed into devices where the consumer does not replace them. The cell contains a liquid mixture of thionyl chloride (SOCl2) and lithium tetrachloroaluminate (LiAlCl4), which act as the cathode and electrolyte, respectively. A porous carbon material serves as a cathode current collector which receives electrons from the external circuit. Lithium-thionyl chloride batteries are well suited to extremely low-current applications where long life is necessary, such as wireless alarm systems.
Read more about this topic: Lithium Battery
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