Electrochemical cell
An electrochemical cell is a device capable of either deriving electrical energy from chemical reactions or facilitating chemical reactions through the introduction of electrical energy. A common example of an electrochemical cell is a standard 1.5-volt "battery". (Actually a single "Galvanic cell"; a battery properly consists of multiple cells, connected in either parallel or series pattern.)
Half-cells
An electrochemical cell consists of two half-cells. Each half-cell consists of an electrode and an electrolyte. The two half-cells may use the same electrolyte, or they may use different electrolytes. The chemical reactions in the cell may involve the electrolyte, the electrodes, or an external substance (as in fuel cells that may use hydrogen gas as a reactant). In a full electrochemical cell, species from one half-cell lose electrons (oxidation) to their electrode while species from the other half-cell gain electrons (reduction) from their electrode. A salt bridge (e.g., filter paper soaked in KNO3) is often employed to provide ionic contact between two half-cells with different electrolytes, to prevent the solutions from mixing and causing unwanted side reactions. As electrons flow from one half-cell to the other, a difference in charge is established. If no salt bridge was used, this charge difference would prevent further flow of electrons. A salt bridge allows the flow of ions to maintain a balance in charge between the oxidation and reduction vessels while keeping the contents of each separate. Other devices for achieving separation of solutions are porous pots and gelled solutions. A porous pot is used in the Bunsen cell (right).
Equilibrium reaction
Each half-cell has a characteristic voltage. Different choices of substances for each half-cell give different potential differences. Each reaction is undergoing an equilibrium reaction between different oxidation states of the ions: When equilibrium is reached, the cell cannot provide further voltage. In the half-cell that is undergoing oxidation, the closer the equilibrium lies to the ion/atom with the more positive oxidation state the more potential this reaction will provide. Likewise, in the reduction reaction, the closer the equilibrium lies to the ion/atom with the more negative oxidation state the higher the potential.
Cell potential
The cell potential can be predicted through the use of electrode potentials (the voltages of each half-cell). These half-cell potentials are derived from the assignment of 0 volts to the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE). (See table of standard electrode potentials). The difference in voltage between electrode potentials gives a prediction for the potential measured. When calculating the difference in voltage, one must first manipulate the half-cell reactions to obtain a balanced oxidation-reduction equation.
- Reverse the reduction reaction with the smallest potential ( to create an oxidation reaction/ overall positive cell potential)
- Half-reactions must be multiplied by integers to achieve electron balance.
An important note with this is that the cell potential does not change when the reaction is multiplied.
Cell potentials have a possible range of about zero to 6 volts. Cells using water-based electrolytes are usually limited to cell potentials less than about 2.5 volts, because the very powerful oxidizing and reducing agents that would be required to produce a higher cell potential tend to react with the water.
See also
- Activity (chemistry)
- Cell notation
- Electrochemical potential