Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mphil-in-micro-and-nanotechnology-enterprise-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-1/section-b/11/ii/a/solution
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 1 Section B 11 ii a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
During discharge, the graphite-based electrode is the anode, where lithium is deintercalated and electrons are released; the cobalt-oxide electrode is the cathode, where lithium and electrons are inserted. Adding the stated half-reactions givesThe supplied potentials are not, strictly, the potentials of those two insertion reactions. Approximating the negative-electrode potential by and using the proton-coupled cobalt reduction as a proxy for the positive electrode gives the intended rough estimateThis is a proxy estimate, not an exact thermodynamic derivation for the specified lithium-ion cell. The graphite insertion chemical potential differs from lithium metal, and lithium insertion into is not the supplied proton-insertion reaction. Actual voltage depends on lithium composition, activities and the nonaqueous electrolyte; the source's aqueous notation does not make a practical graphite–cobalt-oxide cell an aqueous battery. Exact insertion potentials or free energies would be needed for a more rigorous calculation.
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