Lithium reduction potential

Various other observations of Krapcho and Bothner-By are accommodated by the radical-anion reduction mechanism. Thus, the position of the initial equilibrium [Eq. (3g)] would be expected to be determined by the reduction potential of the metal and the oxidation potential of the aromatic compound. In spite of small differences in their reduction potentials, lithium, sodium, potassium and calcium afford sufficiently high concentrations of the radical-anion so that all four metals can effect Birch reductions. The few compounds for which comparative data are available are reduced in nearly identical yields by the four metals. However, lithium ion can coordinate strongly with the radical-anion, unlike sodium and potassium ions, and consequently equilibrium (3g) for lithium is shifted considerably... 

A major advance in the art of effecting Birch reductions was the discovery by Wilds and Nelson that lithium reduced aromatic steroids much more efficiently than had hitherto been possible with sodium or potassium. The superiority originally was attributed to the somewhat higher reduction potential of lithium as compared to the other alkali metals. Later work showed that the following explanation is more probable. ... 

The reduction potential for lithium appears at first sight to be anomalous and is one of the... 

The stereoselective 1,4-addition of lithium diorganocuprates (R2CuLi) to unsaturated carbonyl acceptors is a valuable synthetic tool for creating a new C—C bond.181 As early as in 1972, House and Umen noted that the reactivity of diorganocuprates directly correlates with the reduction potentials of a series of a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compounds.182 Moreover, the ESR detection of 9-fluorenone anion radical in the reaction with Me2CuLi, coupled with the observation of pinacols as byproducts in equation (40) provides the experimental evidence for an electron-transfer mechanism of the reaction between carbonyl acceptors and organocuprates.183... 

The cyclic voltammogram for a silver electrode in 0.1M LiC104 acetonitrile solution is shown in Figure 1 (curve a). At a potential of -1.5 V, cathodic current due to the reduction of Li+ ions commences. The upd of lithium has been reported previously by Kolb et al. for positive potential sweeps after substantial lithium reduction (i) however, due to the reactivity of the metallic lithium with impurities in solution, the adsorbed layer formed on the negative potential sweep is not as stable as other upd monolayers (i). An additional cathodic wave due to the reduction of lithium is observed at approximately -2.5V, and on the return sweep the lack of an anodic wave is indicative of the reactivity of the chemisorbed atoms. 

Why is lithium metal becoming a popular electrode in modern batteries Use the standard reduction potentials table to help you answer this question. 

Table 4 lists selected electrochemical stability data for various lithium salt anions that are commonly used in lithium-based electrolytes, with the measurement approaches indicated. Although it has been known that the reduction of anions does occur, sometimes at high potentials, the corresponding processes are usually sluggish and a definite potential for such reductions is often hard to determine. The reduction of solvents, occurring simultaneously with that of anions on the electrode, further complicates the interpretation efforts. For this reason, only the anodic stability of salt anions is of interest, while the cathodic limit of the salt in most cases is set by the reduction of its cation (i.e., lithium deposition potential). 

Almost immediately after lithium metal was found to be stable in nonaqueous electrolytes, researchers suggested that the passivation of the lithium surface by electrolytes is the origin of this unexpected stability, because the reduction potentials of these organic solvents are far above that of lithium. - Peled was the first author to formally introduce the concept of a protective interface between lithium and elec-... 

Because of the similar potentials between fully lithiated graphite and lithium metal, it has been suggested that the chemical nature of the SEIs in both cases should be similar. On the other hand, it has also been realized that for carbonaceous anodes this formation process is not expected to start until the potential of this anode is cathodically polarized (the discharge process in Figure 11) to a certain level, because the intrinsic potentials of such anode materials are much higher than the reduction potential for most of the solvents and salts. Indeed, this potential polarization process causes one of the most fundamental differences between the SEI on lithium metal and that on a carbonaceous anode. For lithium metal, the SEI forms instantaneously upon its contact with electrolytes, and the reduction of electrolyte components should be indiscriminate to all species possible,while, on a carbonaceous anode, the formation of the SEI should be stepwise and preferential reduction of certain electrolyte components is possible. 

With few exceptions, the additives that are intended for the modification of the SEI usually have high reduction potentials, which ensure that these additives are reduced on the anode surface before the bulk electrolyte components are involved. In other words, during the first charging of a lithium ion cell, an SEI with the chemical signature from an additive would have been formed before the potential of the carbonaceous anode reached the onset reduction... 

Alkali metals have high oxidation-reduction potentials and low atomic masses. Thus they are attractive candidates for anodes in secondary batteries. In this context, it was shown in a couple of investigations that lithium and sodium can be electrodeposited from tetrachloroaluminate-based ionic liquids. 

For instance, the reduction potential of many solvents depends on the salt used and, in particular, on the cation. The reduction potentials of alkyl carbonates and esters in the presence of tetraalkyl ammonium salts (TAA) are usually much lower than in the presence of alkaline ions (Li+, Na+, etc.). Similar effects were observed with the reduction potential of some common contaminants (e.g., H20, 02, C02). Moreover, the reduction products of many alkyl carbonates and esters are soluble in the presence of tetraalkyl ammonium salts, while in the presence of lithium ions, film formation occurs, leading to passivation of the electrode [3],... 

Tetraalkyl ammonium (TAA) salts are characterized by very low reduction potentials, along with good solubility in many organic solvents. Thus, nonaqueous solutions composed of such salts (e.g., tetrabutyl ammonium perchlorate and organic solvents such as ethers, esters, and alkyl carbonates) can be electrolyzed using noble metal electrodes. In contrast to lithium salt solutions, in TAA-based solutions there is no precipitation of insoluble products on the electrode, which leads to its passivation. Therefore, it is possible to isolate and identify the electrolysis products and thus outline precise reduction mechanisms for the various systems. 

It is necessary to know the thermodynamic reduction potentials of the active metals in chloroaluminate melts. Scordilis-Kelley et al. [451,467] have studied standard reduction potentials in ambient temperature chloroaluminate melts for lithium and sodium, and they have calculated those of K, Rb, Cs. The values are, respectively, -2.066 V, -2.097 V, -2.71 V, -2.77 V and -2.87 V [versus A1(III)/A1 in a 1.5/1.0 A1C13/MEIC reference melt]. 

These values show that lithium and sodium are at the negative potential limit of the electrochemical window (-2 V) (see Figure 49), close to the reduction potential of the imidazolium cation to neutral radical. Therefore, there is a competition between these processes with a resulting decrease in current efficiency. But Reichel and Wilkes [454], Campbell and Johnson [468], Scordilis-Kelley and Carlin [467,469] and Gray et al. [470] showed that an extension of the electrochemical window to -2.4 V is obtained by the addition of HC1 to the AICI3-MEIC neutral melt buffered with NaCl or LiCl. Under these conditions, plating and stripping of sodium and lithium occurs at inert electrodes in room temperature chloroaluminate molten salts. The effect of HC1 addition disappears quickly because of evaporation. 

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