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/iii/solution
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 1 Section A(iii) 7 iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Define mass-specific differential capacitance, or specific capacitance, byState whether is one electrode's active mass, both electrodes' active mass or the entire device mass; these conventions are not interchangeable. An average capacitance inferred from a finite voltage interval is and need not equal the local derivative.
A nearly ideal double-layer supercapacitor has an approximately flat capacitance over its stable operating window, so stored charge rises nearly linearly with potential. Real electrodes need not be flat: dilute-electrolyte double-layer models can give a minimum near the potential of zero charge, while concentrated electrolytes, finite ion size and pore confinement can produce bell-shaped or double-peaked curves. Pseudocapacitance can add broad potential-dependent contributions near a redox transition. The sketch above therefore labels several possible behaviours instead of asserting a universal monotonic trend. Constant-potential simulations have directly found transitions between double-peaked and bell-shaped differential-capacitance curves as interfacial interactions change.[ref]
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