Catalytic activity of a series of subphthalocyanines in the electrolyte of Li/SOCl2 battery

A series of subphthalocyanines with different substituents (RPhO-BSubPc(COOCH3)3) have been synthesized and used as catalysts to catalyze lithium/thionyl chloride (Li/SOCl2) battery. All the compounds are structurally characterized by IR, UV, and element analysis. After adding RPhO-BSubPc(COOCH3)3 into the battery’s electrolyte, the energy and the capacity of the battery are increased by approximately 3.27–40.6 and 10.9–53.2 % than that of the battery in the absence of them. In addition, a three-step hypothetical mechanism is figured out to explain the complex catalytic process. By comparing the images of SEM, it is found that the addition of catalysts makes the lithium chloride layer looser, which is conducive to the transfer of electrons. Moreover, the hypothetical mechanism is confirmed by the results of cyclic voltammetry.