Irreversible gettering of thionyl chloride

The authors have successfully demonstrated the irreversible gettering of SOCl{sub 2} by ZnO/ASZMTEDA carbon over a modest temperature range. While thionyl chloride decomposition was slow below {minus}20 C, lower temperatures are expected to be less of a problem than at higher temperatures. The approximately 30 cc of thionyl chloride in a typical D-cell would require 50 g of ZnO and 107 g of ASZMTEDA carbon. Fortunately, since it is unlikely to happen at all, it is common practice to assume only one cell will fail (leak) in a given battery pack. So, one charge of getter can protect the whole battery pack. In summary, ZnO/ASZMTEDA carbon fulfills all of the requirements of an ideal getter including: irreversible binding or reaction with SOCl{sub 2}, high volumetric uptake capacity, high efficiency, non-volatile, air stable, insensitive to poisoning, non-toxic, cheap, non-corrosive, and the gettering product is not a liquid or oil that could block further flow or accessibility. Future work in this area includes incorporation of the ZnO and carbon into a structural open-celled porous monolith, as well as, gettering for other types of batteries (e.g., Li/MnO{sub 2})