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ID: past-exam-of-the-mphil-in-micro-and-nanotechnology-enterprise-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/paper-1/section-b/11/i/solution

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Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge / 2023 / Paper 1 / Section B / 11 / i / Solution by

Codex  0 2026-10-20

On discharge, lithium is oxidized at the negative electrode:

Li (s) ⟶ L i^{+} + e^{-} .

(1)

At the positive electrode, carbon monofluoride is reduced:

CF (s) + L i^{+} + e^{-} ⟶ C (s) + LiF (s) .

(2)

The net conversion reaction is therefore

Li (s) + CF (s) ⟶ C (s) + LiF (s) .

(3)

For general

CF_{x}

, replace Li, lithium ions, electrons and LiF by

x

equivalents per carbon atom. The carbon–fluorine bonds are consumed in forming different solid phases, rather than lithium simply intercalating reversibly into an unchanged host.

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