Commutator (electric) A commutator is a moving part of a rotary electrical switch in certain types of electric motors and electrical generators that periodically reverses the current direction between the rotor and the external circuit. It consists of a cylinder composed of multiple metal contact segments on the rotating armature of the machine.
The word equation that would represent the formation of lithium oxide from lithium metal and oxygen is: lithium + oxygen to lithium oxide. In chemical symbols, the balanced chemical equation is expressed as: Li + O2 = Li2O.
Lithium cobalt oxide consists of layers of lithium (show here as purple spheres) that lie between slabs formed by cobalt and oxygen atoms (shown here as connected red and blue spheres). In a lithium-ion battery, the lithium ion is the cation that travels from anode to cathode. Lithium (Li) is easily ionized to form Li+ plus one electron. The electrolyte is typically a combination of lithium salts, such as LiPF6, LiBF4, or LiClO4, in an organic solvent, such as ether.