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3: Ions and Electrochemistry

  • Page ID
    515123
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    • 3.1: Mean Ionic Activity Coefficients and the Debye-Hückel Model
      Ions in solutions behave far from ideally. Because ions are paired with their counter ions it is hard to separate the activities of the ion pairs. In this section we define the concept of a combined mean activity coefficient and the Debye-Hückel model for estimating the mean activity coefficient.
    • 3.2: Extending Debye-Hückel Theory to Higher Concentrations
      The Debye–Hückel theory deviates from real systems at high concentrations because the model is simple and does not take into account effects such as ion association, incomplete dissociation, ion shape and size, polarizability of the ions, the role of the solvent. Several approaches have been proposed to extend the validity of the Debye–Hückel theory, including the Extended Debye-Hückel equation, the Davies equation, the Pitzer equations and specific ion interaction theory.
    • 3.3: Ion Transport
      In this section we will concentrate on how concentration gradients combined with electrostatic potential differences impact the transport of ions across a membrane.
    • 3.4: Review of Redox Chemistry
      An electric current consists of moving charge. The charge may be in the form of electrons or ions. Current flows through an unbroken or closed circular path called a circuit. The current flows through a conducting medium as a result of a difference in electrical potential between two points in a circuit. Electrical potential has the units of energy per charge. In SI units, charge is measured in coulombs (C), current in amperes, and electrical potential in volts.
    • 3.5: Half Cells and Standard Reduction Potentials
      The page explains the concept of standard reduction potentials and how to calculate cell potentials for electrochemical cells. It highlights the role of the Standard Hydrogen Electrode (SHE) as a reference point set to 0.00 V.
    • 3.6: Cell potentials under non-standard conditions (Nernst equation)
      When the concentrations in the half-cells of a galvanic cell are not at standard concentrations the cell potential varies from the expected standard cell potential. In this section we derive and use the Nernst equation to explain and calculate the changes in cell potential.
    • 3.7: Thermodynamics from Electrochemistry
      This page discusses the temperature dependence of the Gibbs function and cell potential in a Daniel cell. Equations relating changes in Gibbs energy and cell potential to entropy are provided. Data for the Daniel cell is fit to a quadratic function to determine the temperature dependence of cell potential, showing that entropy change (\(\Delta S\)) affects the cell potential at different temperatures.
    • 3.8: Redox Examples
      Redox reactions are very common in reactions used to produce energy. In this section we will look at some specific examples from living organisms and common batteries.


    This page titled 3: Ions and Electrochemistry is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jonathan Gutow.

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