Electrolyte systems

Disadvantages associated with some organic solvents include toxicity flammabiHty and explosion ha2ards sensitivity to moisture uptake, possibly leading to subsequent undesirable reactions with solutes low electrical conductivity relatively high cost and limited solubiHty of many solutes. In addition, the electrolyte system can degrade under the influence of an electric field, yielding undesirable materials such as polymers, chars, and products that interfere with deposition of the metal or alloy. 

Electrolysis. Electrowinning of zirconium has long been considered as an alternative to the KroU process, and at one time zirconium was produced electrolyticaHy in a prototype production cell (70). Electrolysis of an aH-chloride molten-salt system is inefficient because of the stabiUty of lower chlorides in these melts. The presence of fluoride salts in the melt increases the stabiUty of in solution, decreasing the concentration of lower valence zirconium ions, and results in much higher current efficiencies. The chloride—electrolyte systems and electrolysis approaches are reviewed in References 71 and 72. The recovery of zirconium metal by electrolysis of aqueous solutions in not thermodynamically feasible, although efforts in this direction persist. 

In Figure 1, the cutaway view of the automotive battery shows the components used in its constmction. An industrial motive power battery, shown in Figure 2 (2), is the type used for lift tmcks, trains, and mine haulage. Both types of batteries have the standard free electrolyte systems and operate only in the vertical position. Although a tubular positive lead—acid battery is shown for industrial appHcations, the dat plate battery constmction (Fig. 1) is also used in a comparable size. 

Solid Electrolyte Systems. Whereas there has been considerable research into the development of soHd electrolyte batteries (18—21), development of practical batteries has been slow because of problems relating to the low conductivity of the soHd electrolyte. The development of an all sohd-state battery would offer significant advantages. Such a battery would overcome problems of electrolyte leakage, dendrite formation, and corrosion that can be encountered with Hquid electrolytes. 

A.sahi Chemical EHD Processes. In the late 1960s, Asahi Chemical Industries in Japan developed an alternative electrolyte system for the electroreductive coupling of acrylonitrile. The catholyte in the Asahi divided cell process consisted of an emulsion of acrylonitrile and electrolysis products in a 10% aqueous solution of tetraethyl ammonium sulfate. The concentration of acrylonitrile in the aqueous phase for the original Monsanto process was 15—20 wt %, but the Asahi process uses only about 2 wt %. Asahi claims simpler separation and purification of the adiponitrile from the catholyte. A cation-exchange membrane is employed with dilute sulfuric acid in the anode compartment. The cathode is lead containing 6% antimony, and the anode is the same alloy but also contains 0.7% silver (45). The current efficiency is of 88—89%, with an adiponitrile selectivity of 91%. This process, started by Asahi in 1971, at Nobeoka City, Japan, is also operated by the RhcJ)ne Poulenc subsidiary, Rhodia, in Bra2il under Hcense from Asahi. 

The holistic thermodynamic approach based on material (charge, concentration and electron) balances is a firm and valuable tool for a choice of the best a priori conditions of chemical analyses performed in electrolytic systems. Such an approach has been already presented in a series of papers issued in recent years, see [1-4] and references cited therein. In this communication, the approach will be exemplified with electrolytic systems, with special emphasis put on the complex systems where all particular types (acid-base, redox, complexation and precipitation) of chemical equilibria occur in parallel and/or sequentially. All attainable physicochemical knowledge can be involved in calculations and none simplifying assumptions are needed. All analytical prescriptions can be followed. The approach enables all possible (from thermodynamic viewpoint) reactions to be included and all effects resulting from activation barrier(s) and incomplete set of equilibrium data presumed can be tested. The problems involved are presented on some examples of analytical systems considered lately, concerning potentiometric titrations in complex titrand + titrant systems. All calculations were done with use of iterative computer programs MATLAB and DELPHI. 

To find the best a priori conditions of analysis, the equilibrium analysis, based on material balances and all physicochemical knowledge involved with an electrolytic system, has been done with use of iterative computer programs. The effects resulting from (a) a buffer chosen, (b) its concentration and (c) complexing properties, (d) pH value established were considered in simulated and experimental titrations. Further effects tested were tolerances in (e) volumes of titrants added in aliquots, (f) pre-assumed pH values on precision and accuracy of concentration measured from intersection of two segments obtained in such titrations. 

Fig. 2-2 Simplified potential-pH diagram for an iron/aqueous electrolyte system at 25°C c(Fe ) + c(Fe ) = 10" mol L (explanation in the text).

The only practicable large-scale method of preparing F2 gas is Moissan s original procedure based on the electrolysis of KF dissolved in anhydrous HF (see however p. 821). Moissan used a mole ratio KF HF of about 1 13, but this has a high vapour pressure of HF and had to be operated at —24°. Electrolyte systems having mole ratios of 1 2 and 1 1 melt at 72° and 240°C respectively and have much lower vapour pressures of HF accordingly... 

The overall pattern of behaviour of titanium in aqueous environments is perhaps best understood by consideration of the electrochemical characteristics of the metal/oxide and oxide-electrolyte system. The thermodynamic stability of oxides is dependent upon the electrical potential between the metal and the solution and the pH (see Section 1.4). The Ti/HjO system has been considered by Pourbaix". The thermodynamic stability of an... 

If these two electrodes are connected by an electronic conductor, the electron flow starts from the negative electrode (with higher electron density) to the positive electrode. The electrode A/electrolyte system tries to keep the electron density constant. As a consequence additional metal A dissolves at the negative electrode, forming A+ in solution and electrons e, which are located on the surface of metal A ... 

At the positive electrode the electronic current results in an increasing electron density. The electrode B/electrolyte system compensates this process by the consumption of electrons for the deposition of B+ ions ... 

Mn02 is used for the same purpose as the cathode active material in lithium-manganese dioxide (Li - Mn02) batteries it has been used for a long time in zinc-carbon and alkaline-manganese dioxide batteries, which are aqueous-electrolyte systems. 

This reaction may be followed by others (complex formation and/or precipitation) which are independent of the electrode potential but determined by the nature and concentration of the electrolyte. It is impossible to discuss all the problems relating to zinc electrodes without looking at the electrolyte system and the kind of cell operation (primary or rechargeable). The only way to cover all the possible combinations is by another mode of characterization or categorization, which is used in the subsequent sections ... 

The electrochemical performance of lithiated carbons depends basically on the electrolyte, the parent carbonaceous material, and the interaction between the two (see also Chapter III, Sec.6). As far as the lithium intercalation process is concerned, interactions with the electrolyte, which limit the suitability of an electrolyte system, will be discussed in Secs. 5.2.2.3,... 

Figure 1 shows the temperature variation of the ionic conductivities for several polymer-electrolyte systems. At room temperature they are typically 100 to 1000 times less than those exhibited by a liquid or the best ceramic- or glass-based electrolytes [6,8], Although higher conductivities are preferable, 100-fold or 1000-fold... 

Very little work has been done in this area. Even electrolyte transport has not been well characterized for multicomponent electrolyte systems. Multicomponent electrochemical transport theory [36] has not been applied to transport in lithium-ion electrolytes, even though these electrolytes consist of a blend of solvents. It is easy to imagine that ions are preferentially solvated and ion transport causes changes in solvent composition near the electrodes. Still, even the most sophisticated mathematical models [37] model transport as a binary salt. 

Doyle et al. [40] used a mathematical model to examine the effect of separator thickness for the PVDF.HFP gel electrolyte system and found that decreasing separator thickness below 52 pm caused only a minor decrease in ohmic drop across the cell. The voltage drops in the electrodes were much more significant. They state that their model predictions were confirmed experimentally. 

If the activity coefficients are estimated from the Debye-Huckel theory in dilute regions of simple electrolyte systems, we have for aqueous solutions at 25 °C,... 

In the Electrolytic System, corrosion should not be a serious problem. Its principal drawback is design of the electrolytic cell. 

Although cyclic voltammetry in a variety of electrolyte systems, and with a variety of doped polymers, has shown strong effects due to ion transport, it has provided little understanding. In fact, one of the important uses of ion transport data from the techniques discussed in the preceding subsections is that they help to provide an understanding of the cyclic voltammetry behavior of conducting polymer films. Their importance will... 

By comparing impedance results for polypyrrole in electrolyte-polymer-electrolyte and electrode-polymer-electrolyte systems, Des-louis et alm have shown that the charge-transfer resistance in the latter case can contain contributions from both interfaces. Charge-transfer resistances at the polymer/electrode interface were about five times higher than those at the polymer/solution interface. Thus the assignments made by Albery and Mount,203 and by Ren and Pickup145 are supported, with the caveat that only the primary source of the high-frequency semicircle was identified. Contributions from the polymer/solution interface, and possibly from the bulk, are probably responsible for the deviations from the theoretical expressions/45... 

This new NEMCA process underlines the potential importance of electrochemical promotion in industrial aqueous electrolyte systems. 

I. The parameter 2Fr0/Io ( A ) must be larger than unity (Chapter 4). Catalysis at the metal/gas interface must be faster than electrocatalysis. This is easy to satisfy in solid electrolyte systems and more difficult to satisfy in aqueous electrolyte systems. 

Electrode Electrode reaction, electrolyte system ), concentration " ) T -Eshe Ref. 

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