The goals of the program are to decrease anode corrosion and discharge over-potential, and to increase the capacity of calcium soluble cathode primary cells, by using a novel sulfur dioxide based electrolyte. In the presence of calcium ions and the new electrolyte, sulfur dioxide was reduced on carbon in experimental cells to calcium sulfide, not calcium dithionite. One certain advantage is that two equivalents are obtained per mole of sulfur dioxide instead of one, as in the li/so2 primary cell. We propose to determine whether d size prototype calcium cells with superior capacity can be constructed. The cac12 film has been blamed for the corrosion and polarization of the anodes in calcium/oxyhalide cells, since cac12 is an anion conductor, not a cation conductor as is the salt film on lithium anodes in lithium cells. If the salt film on calcium in the new electrolyte is also CAS, which is a cation conductor, then calcium anodes may discharge by the same mechanism which allows lithium anodes to discharge efficiently. Using prototype d cells and the new electrolyte, we propose to determine whether calcium corrosion and polarization can be reduced.
