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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2003  > September  >
Chemistry for Everyone
Lithium Batteries: A Practical Application of Chemical Principles
Richard S. Treptow
Department of Chemistry and Physics, Chicago State University, Chicago, IL 60628-1598
Cover
September 2003
Vol. 80 No. 9
p. 1015
Abstract
In recent years batteries have emerged in the marketplace that take advantage of the unique properties of lithium. Lithium metal is an attractive choice to serve as a battery anode because it is easily oxidized and it produces an exceptionally high amount of electrical charge per unit-weight. The electrolytes used in lithium batteries contain lithium salts dissolved in polar organic solvents. A variety of substances can serve as the battery cathode. They include inorganic solids, liquids, and dissolved gas. The cell potentials of lithium-metal batteries can be calculated from thermodynamic principles. These open-circuit voltages can be compared to the operating voltages of batteries delivering a current. Some lithium batteries employ intercalation compounds as their cathodes. These solids have layered or tunneled crystal structures into which lithium ions insert during the reduction process. When an intercalation cathode is paired with a lithiated-graphite anode, the resulting battery has the advantage of being rechargeable. It is known as a lithium-ion battery because no lithium metal is present.

Featured on the Cover
More Information
*  Citation
 Treptow, Richard S. J. Chem. Educ. 2003 80 1015.
*  Keywords
 Consumer Chemistry; Electrochemistry; General Chemistry; Introductory / High School Chemistry; Lithium; Physical Chemistry; Redox Reactions
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 August 4, 2003
February 28, 2005
Full Text PDF corrected (December 2003). Link to Cover added (April 2004).
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