2013 Volume 62 Issue 9 Pages 303-309
The generalized chemical potential diagram for multi-component systems at high temperatures can provide useful and crucial information in examining materials behaviors in various environments including interfaces of dissimilar materials. This approach cannot apply directly to room temperature chemistry to be analyzed using the Pourbaix diagrams. Key concepts are discussed in terms of reasonable treatments of solid-solution equilibrium in view of kinetic considerations on nucleation and diffusion which make different room temperature chemistry from that at high temperatures. New construction strategies for multi-component Pourbaix diagrams are proposed with an emphasis of congruent dissolution process. Application to electrochemical process such as lithium batteries is shown as an interesting example.
