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Related Concept Videos

Batteries and Fuel Cells03:12

Batteries and Fuel Cells

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A battery is a galvanic cell that is used as a source of electrical power for specific applications. Modern batteries exist in a multitude of forms to accommodate various applications, from tiny button batteries such as those that power wristwatches to the very large batteries used to supply backup energy to municipal power grids. Some batteries are designed for single-use applications and cannot be recharged (primary cells), while others are based on conveniently reversible cell reactions that...
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In a galvanic cell, the electrical work is done by a redox system on its surroundings as electrons produced by the spontaneous redox reactions are transferred through an external circuit. Alternatively, an external circuit does work on a redox system by imposing a voltage sufficient to drive an otherwise nonspontaneous reaction in a process known as electrolysis. For instance, recharging a battery involves the use of an external power source to drive the spontaneous (discharge) cell reaction in...
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Spontaneous Chemical Reactions
Spontaneous redox reactions occur abundantly in nature. The chemical reaction occurring in a disposable AA battery powering our remote controls is one such example of a spontaneous redox reaction. Another example is the immersion of coiled copper wire into an aqueous silver nitrate solution. The reaction shows a gradual, visually impressive color change from colorless to bright blue and the formation of a grey precipitate on the copper wire. In this experiment,...
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Ions are atoms or molecules bearing an electrical charge. A cation (a positive ion) forms when a neutral atom loses one or more electrons from its valence shell, and an anion (a negative ion) forms when a neutral atom gains one or more electrons in its valence shell. Compounds composed of ions are called ionic compounds (or salts), and their constituent ions are held together by ionic bonds: electrostatic forces of attraction between oppositely charged cations and anions. 
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DC Battery01:21

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A conductor needs to be a component of a path that creates a closed loop or full circuit to have a continuous current flowing through it. A current starts to flow if an electric field is created inside an isolated conductor that is not part of a full circuit. The conductor quickly develops a net positive charge at one end and a net negative charge at the other. These charges generate an electric field opposite the direction of the applied electric field, which reduces the current. Eventually,...
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Alkali Metals03:06

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Group 1 elements are soft and shiny metallic solids. They are malleable, ductile, and good conductors of heat and electricity. The melting points of the alkali metals are unusually low for metals and decrease going down the group, while the density increases going down the group with the exception of potassium (Table 1).
Table 1: Properties of the alkali metals
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 22, 2025

Characterization of Electrode Materials for Lithium Ion and Sodium Ion Batteries Using Synchrotron Radiation Techniques
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Rechargeable Na/Cl2 and Li/Cl2 batteries.

Guanzhou Zhu1, Xin Tian1, Hung-Chun Tai2

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

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|August 26, 2021
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Summary

Researchers developed rechargeable sodium/chlorine or lithium/chlorine batteries using advanced carbon electrodes and novel electrolytes. This breakthrough enables high-energy-density storage for future applications.

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Elemental-sensitive Detection of the Chemistry in Batteries through Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering
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Area of Science:

  • Electrochemistry
  • Materials Science
  • Energy Storage

Background:

  • Primary lithium-thionyl chloride (Li-SOCl2) batteries, invented in the 1970s, offer high energy density but are not rechargeable.
  • These primary batteries utilize lithium metal anodes, amorphous carbon cathodes, and SOCl2 catholytes, discharging via lithium oxidation and catholyte reduction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a rechargeable secondary alkali-metal/chlorine battery system.
  • To overcome the non-rechargeable limitation of traditional primary lithium-thionyl chloride batteries.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a highly microporous carbon positive electrode.
  • Employed a starting electrolyte of aluminum chloride in SOCl2 with fluoride additives.
  • Used either sodium or lithium metal as the negative electrode.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated a rechargeable Na/Cl2 or Li/Cl2 battery system.
  • Achieved rechargeability via reversible Cl2/NaCl or Cl2/LiCl redox within the microporous carbon.
  • Stabilized the negative electrode using a thin alkali-fluoride-doped alkali-chloride solid electrolyte interface.

Conclusions:

  • The developed secondary alkali-metal/chlorine batteries are rechargeable due to reversible chlorine redox chemistry in microporous carbon.
  • The stabilized negative electrode interface is crucial for the secondary battery's performance.
  • This work paves the way for next-generation high-energy-density rechargeable batteries.