An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit. Electrodes are essential parts of batteries that can consist of a variety of materials (chemicals) depending on the type of battery.
Lithium is a chemical element; it has symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere, or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil. It exhibits a metallic luster. It corrodes quickly in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly as pegmatitic minerals, which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines. Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
In chemistry, a reducing agent is a chemical species that "donates" an electron to an electron recipient.
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. In comparison with other commercial rechargeable batteries, Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, higher energy density, higher energy efficiency, a longer cycle life, and a longer calendar life. Also noteworthy is a dramatic improvement in lithium-ion battery properties after their market introduction in 1991: over the following 30 years, their volumetric energy density increased threefold while their cost dropped tenfold.
A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly, lithium-ion polymer battery, is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte. Highly conductive semisolid (gel) polymers form this electrolyte. These batteries provide higher specific energy than other lithium battery types. They are used in applications where weight is critical, such as mobile devices, radio-controlled aircraft, and some electric vehicles.
Sulfites or sulphites are compounds that contain the sulfite ion, SO2−
3. The sulfite ion is the conjugate base of bisulfite. Although its acid is elusive, its salts are widely used.
Sodium sulfite (sodium sulphite) is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula Na2SO3. A white, water-soluble solid, it is used commercially as an antioxidant and preservative. It is also suitable for the softening of lignin in the pulping and refining processes of wood and lignocellulosic materials. A heptahydrate is also known but it is less useful because of its greater susceptibility toward oxidation by air.
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or fully chemical methods. The finished product may be either bleached or non-bleached, depending on the customer requirements.
Naturally occurring lithium (3Li) is composed of two stable isotopes, lithium-6 (6Li) and lithium-7 (7Li), with the latter being far more abundant on Earth. Both of the natural isotopes have an unexpectedly low nuclear binding energy per nucleon when compared with the adjacent lighter and heavier elements, helium and beryllium. The longest-lived radioisotope of lithium is 8Li, which has a half-life of just 838.7(3) milliseconds. 9Li has a half-life of 178.2(4) ms, and 11Li has a half-life of 8.75(6) ms. All of the remaining isotopes of lithium have half-lives that are shorter than 10 nanoseconds. The shortest-lived known isotope of lithium is 4Li, which decays by proton emission with a half-life of about 91(9) yoctoseconds, although the half-life of 3Li is yet to be determined, and is likely to be much shorter, like 2He which undergoes proton emission within 10−9 s.
Lithium oxide (Li
2O) or lithia is an inorganic chemical compound. It is a white solid. Although not specifically important, many materials are assessed on the basis of their Li2O content. For example, the Li2O content of the principal lithium mineral spodumene (LiAlSi2O6) is 8.03%.
The lithium iron phosphate battery or LFP battery is a type of lithium-ion battery using lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material, and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing as the anode. Because of their low cost, high safety, low toxicity, long cycle life and other factors, LFP batteries are finding a number of roles in vehicle use, utility-scale stationary applications, and backup power. LFP batteries are cobalt-free. As of September 2022, LFP type battery market share for EVs reached 31%, and of that, 68% were from EV makers Tesla and BYD alone. Chinese manufacturers currently hold a near monopoly of LFP battery type production. With patents having started to expire in 2022 and the increased demand for cheaper EV batteries, LFP type production is expected to rise further and surpass lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (NMC) type batteries in 2028.
Lithium hexafluorophosphate is an inorganic compound with the formula LiPF6. It is a white crystalline powder.
The sulfite process produces wood pulp that is almost pure cellulose fibers by treating wood chips with solutions of sulfite and bisulfite ions. These chemicals cleave the bonds between the cellulose and lignin components of the lignocellulose. A variety of sulfite/bisulfite salts are used, including sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+), and ammonium (NH4+). The lignin is converted to lignosulfonates, which are soluble and can be separated from the cellulose fibers. For the production of cellulose, the sulfite process competes with the Kraft process which produces stronger fibers and is less environmentally costly.
Lithium cobalt oxide, sometimes called lithium cobaltate or lithium cobaltite, is a chemical compound with formula LiCoO
2. The cobalt atoms are formally in the +3 oxidation state, hence the IUPAC name lithium cobalt(III) oxide.
Calcium sulfite, or calcium sulphite, is a chemical compound, the calcium salt of sulfite with the formula CaSO3·x(H2O). Two crystalline forms are known, the hemihydrate and the tetrahydrate, respectively CaSO3·½(H2O) and CaSO3·4(H2O). All forms are white solids. It is most notable as the product of flue-gas desulfurization.
Lithium titanates are chemical compounds of lithium, titanium and oxygen. They are mixed oxides and belong to the titanates. The most important lithium titanates are:
Ammonium sulfite is the ammonium salt of sulfurous acid with the chemical formula (NH4)2SO3.
Sodium bisulfite (or sodium bisulphite, sodium hydrogen sulfite) is a chemical mixture with the approximate chemical formula NaHSO3. Sodium bisulfite is not a real compound, but a mixture of salts that dissolve in water to give solutions composed of sodium and bisulfite ions. It appears in form of white or yellowish-white crystals with an odor of sulfur dioxide. Regardless of its ill-defined nature, sodium bisulfite is used in many different industries such as a food additive with E number E222 in the food industry, a reducing agent in the cosmetic industry, and a decomposer of residual hypochlorite used in the bleaching industry.
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (abbreviated NMC, Li-NMC, LNMC, or NCM) are mixed metal oxides of lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt with the general formula LiNixMnyCo1-x-yO2. These materials are commonly used in lithium-ion batteries for mobile devices and electric vehicles, acting as the positively charged cathode.
A sulfite sulfate is a chemical compound that contains both sulfite and sulfate anions [SO3]2− [SO4]2−. These compounds were discovered in the 1980s as calcium and rare earth element salts. Minerals in this class were later discovered. Minerals may have sulfite as an essential component, or have it substituted for another anion as in alloriite. The related ions [O3SOSO2]2− and [(O2SO)2SO2]2− may be produced in a reaction between sulfur dioxide and sulfate and exist in the solid form as tetramethyl ammonium salts. They have a significant partial pressure of sulfur dioxide.
