How does the electrolyte in a battery work?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion focuses on the functioning of electrolytes in batteries, particularly how they conduct ions and the mechanisms behind charge transport in different conductive media. Participants explore theoretical and conceptual aspects of ionic and electronic conduction, comparing the roles of electrolytes and metallic conductors.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question how a neutral electrolyte can conduct exclusively positive ions, while others argue that a neutral conductor like copper wire can conduct exclusively electrons.
  • One participant expresses confusion about the implications of neutrality in different conductive media and seeks to understand the physical processes involved.
  • Another participant describes the behavior of copper atoms as they transfer electrons under a potential difference, asking for analogous processes in electrolytes.
  • It is noted that the movement of ions in an electrolyte depends on the specific reactions occurring at the electrodes, with cations moving towards the cathode and anions towards the anode, maintaining overall electrical neutrality.
  • A participant shares a diagram illustrating the redox reactions in a flooded lead-acid battery, highlighting how charge separation creates an electric field that influences ion movement until equilibrium is reached.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the mechanisms of charge transport in electrolytes versus metallic conductors. The discussion remains unresolved, with multiple competing perspectives on how neutrality affects conduction and the specific processes involved.

Contextual Notes

Participants do not reach consensus on the underlying physical processes that allow different media to transport charge carriers. The discussion includes assumptions about the behavior of ions and electrons that are not fully explored or defined.

radaballer
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An electrolyte is neutral, so what allows it to conduct exclusively positive ions in a battery and not electrons?
 
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Cu wire is neutral, so what allows it to conduct exclusively electrons in an external circuit and not positive ions?
 
Bystander said:
Cu wire is neutral, so what allows it to conduct exclusively electrons in an external circuit and not positive ions?

I don't understand what your getting at.
 
You're objecting to one "neutral" medium transporting charge carriers, and you have no objection to a second "neutral" medium transporting charge carriers. It's the same question. What physical processes are you interested in understanding?
 
Bystander said:
You're objecting to one "neutral" medium transporting charge carriers, and you have no objection to a second "neutral" medium transporting charge carriers. It's the same question. What physical processes are you interested in understanding?
I see, I want to understand what physical process allows either conductor (the Cu or the electrolyte) to transport a exclusively a positive or negative charge
 
Cu atoms are playing "hot potato" with electrons given a potential difference between the ends of the conductor that is sufficient that electrons can make the jump, or be tossed from one atom to the next. What are analogous structures/entities in an electrolyte solution?
 
Bystander said:
Cu atoms are playing "hot potato" with electrons given a potential difference between the ends of the conductor that is sufficient that electrons can make the jump, or be tossed from one atom to the next. What are analogous structures/entities in an electrolyte solution?
In an electrolyte, a the charges in a substance such as NaCl are divorced from one another and form ions i.e. negative and positive charges. If there are equal proportion of each in an electrolyte(making the substance neutral), what then makes the electrolytes cater to positive ions in particular?
 
Generally, they do not. Depends on the cathodic and anodic reactions in the cell. If electrode potentials are such that cations are being reduced, cations will be moving from the "cell anode" where they are constantly being produced either by oxidation of anode material, or components of the solution to the "cell cathode" where they are reduced. Any given volume increment of the solution remains electrically neutral as anions play "hot potato" with the cationic drift. Other cell and electrode reactions might be forming anions at the "cell cathode" and those anions move to the anode to be oxidized.
 
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This is a good diagram of the flooded lead acid battery redox. The charge separation from the chemical reactions creates an electric field and the free ions in the electrolyte move to neutralize the field in response until the system reaches equilibrium.

http://ecee.colorado.edu/~ecen4517/materials/Battery.pdf
 
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