Improvement of flexible lithium battery shelf life by pre-discharging

Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based gel electrolyte has been used in flexible lithium batteries. These batteries are flexible and less than 0.5 mm thick, which make them suitable as power sources for smart cards and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. We investigated the electrochemical properties of flexible lithium batteries using an impedance analyzer and potentiostat/galvanostat to evaluate the electrical capacities. To prevent the formation of gas by decomposition of electrolyte solvent, the batteries had to be pre-discharged about 5% of theoretical MnO2 capacity. Of the three kinds of pre-discharging methods, especially, battery two-step pre-discharging method was performed showed the best electrical properties after storage at 60 °C for 60 days.

Research highlights▶ Pre-discharging process improved the shelf life of lithium primary battery. ▶ The beneficial SEI layer formed by pre-discharging prevented lithium corrosion. ▶ Pre-discharging method also affected the battery performance.