AAMC FL 2 C/P #33

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sydd

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This feels simple but I can't see the answer. Can someone explain? To start, I'm not 100% sure what the questions is comparing since I thought the SYC was the electrolytic cell. Then the last paragraph through me for a loop. I assumed so long as the temp is 600+ the reaction should be okay?

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So the set-up to do this whole thing includes two electrodes - one where oxidation occurs and one where reduction occurs - that are separated by some conductor (they call it SCY). All the information you need to solve the question is then in the passage. We know that 1) the thermodynamics of the overall reaction favor the reverse reaction and 2) the conductivity of the electrolyte (conductor) increases with temperature. We want this whole thing to go both fast and to the right. The problem chemically is that in order for make things go faster, you need to heat them up. But with this system, if you speed up the kinetics by heating the whole thing up, the equilibrium favors the left and not the right. That's the conundrum.

The question basically tells you that they can solve this conundrum by separating the kinetics from the thermodynamics. They can make the kinetics faster and the thermodynamics favorable. In other words, you can have your cake and eat it too. The question is what combination of temperature control achieves that. And the answer is you want the conductivity to be high because you want to deliver those protons to the reaction sites (kinetics) whereas you want the sites of reaction to be lower in temperature because you want to favor the left-hand side of the equation (thermodynamics).
 
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