Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mphil-in-micro-and-nanotechnology-enterprise-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-1/section-a-iii/7/i/solution
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 1 Section A(iii) 7 i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
A conventional capacitor stores separated electronic charge across a dielectric, with capacitance set approximately by . An electric double-layer capacitor stores charge at the interface between a porous electronic conductor and an ionic electrolyte. Electrolyte counterions screen charge on the electrode over a very small interfacial separation, and a porous electrode provides a large accessible area. The separator prevents an electronic short while permitting ionic transport; the two electrode interfaces form series capacitances.
Pseudocapacitance is charge storage by fast, reversible Faradaic processes that give a capacitor-like relation between stored charge and potential over a useful range. Examples include surface redox and suitably rapid insertion processes. It is distinct from purely electrostatic double-layer charging. Merely observing a redox peak does not establish pseudocapacitive behaviour: a slow two-phase battery reaction can remain battery-like even when its electrode is nanostructured.
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