Electrochemistry standard reduction potential

Many handbooks like the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics provide, on behalf of electrochemistry investigation, values of standard reduction potentials, listed either in alphabetical order and/or in potential order. These must be considered as potentials of completely reversible redox systems. In current analytical practice one is interested in half-wave potentials of voltammetric, mostly polarographic analysis in various specific media, also in the case of irreversible systems. Apart from data such as those recently provided by Rach and Seiler (Spurenanalyse mit Polarographischen und Voltammetrischen Methoden, Hiithig, Heidelberg, 1984), these half-wave potentials are given in the following table (Application Note N-l, EG G Princeton Applied Research, Princeton, NJ, 1980). 

Practically in every general chemistry textbook, one can find a table presenting the Standard (Reduction) Potentials in aqueous solution at 25 °C, sometimes in two parts, indicating the reaction condition acidic solution and basic solution. In most cases, there is another table titled Standard Chemical Thermodynamic Properties (or Selected Thermodynamic Values). The former table is referred to in a chapter devoted to Electrochemistry (or Oxidation - Reduction Reactions), while a reference to the latter one can be found in a chapter dealing with Chemical Thermodynamics (or Chemical Equilibria). It is seldom indicated that the two types of tables contain redundant information since the standard potential values of a cell reaction ( n) can be calculated from the standard molar free (Gibbs) energy change (AG" for the same reaction with a simple relationship... 

From electrochemistry the respective standard reduction potentials 38 are in water... 

The addition of a NEW Chapter 17 on Electrochemistry, with calculation of potentials and of stoichiometric quantities from electrical quantities and vice versa. Six new in-chapter examples and forty end-of-chapter problems were added, as well as two tables. Table 17.1 Electrical Variables and Units and Table 17.2 Standard Reduction Potentials. ... 

The ability of the fight actinides to access multiple oxidation states leads to rich, and, sometimes, complex electrochemistry. The standard reduction potentials at pH = 0 for each of the... 

In this experiment, the electrochemistry of both [Co(en)3]3+/2+ and [Co(ox)3]3+/2+ will be investigated using cyclic voltammetry, and the standard reduction potential (E°, V) for the [Co(en)3]3+/2+ couple will be measured. For metal complex stability reasons discussed below, it is not possible to use this technique to obtain reduction potentials for the mixed ligand cobalt systems an exercise at the end of this experiment helps to estimate these. The E° values obtained will be important for experiment 5.6, in which outer-sphere electron transfer rate constants between [Co(en)3)]2+ and [Co(en)2)(ox)]+ will be mathematically modeled using Marcus theory. 

Well-known phenomena as corrosion of e.g. cobber roofs are closely related to the electrochemistry. Because corroded metal as e.g. iron looses its strength corrosion chemistiy has great practical importance. Metals are especially exposed to corrosion as metals are easily oxidised. From tables of standard reduction potentials one will see that with the exception of noble metals as e.g. gold the standard reduction potentials of common metals are lower than for oxygen. This means that the oxidation of most metals is a spontaneous reaction even though not metals are equally oxidised in the presence of oxygen. 

Perhaps the most common example of overvoltage encountered in electrochemistry is that needed to reduce H" " ions at a mercury electrode. On a catalytic Pt surface (platinized Pt, which is a large surface-area, black Pt deposit on Pt metal) the H2/H ion couple is said to behave reversibly. This means that one can oxidize hydrogen gas, or reduce H ions, at the standard reduction potential, 0.00 V, under standard conditions. At a mercury... 

Galvanized iron, which is iron coated with a thin layer of zinc, uses the principles of electrochemistry to protect the iron from corrosion even after the surface coat is broken. The standard reduction potentials for iron and zinc are... 

These points define the standard electrochemical reduction potentials, represented by E°. A list of standard reduction potentials is given in Table 8.2. You should know and be able to apply these conventions in order to successfully work with electrochemistry. 

Reductive electrochemistry involves the transfer of electrons from the electrode surface (cathode) into the doublelayer interface. Within the latter, the electrons react with the most electrophilic component of the interface e.g., 0(aq) in acidic aqueous solutions and H20(aq) in basic aqueous solutions. From electrochemistry the respective standard reduction potentials in water are... 

Other Coordination Complexes. Because carbonate and bicarbonate are commonly found under environmental conditions in water, and because carbonate complexes Pu readily in most oxidation states, Pu carbonato complexes have been studied extensively. The reduction potentials vs the standard hydrogen electrode of Pu(VI)/(V) shifts from 0.916 to 0.33 V and the Pu(IV)/(III) potential shifts from 1.48 to -0.50 V in 1 Tf carbonate. These shifts indicate strong carbonate complexation. Electrochemistry, reaction kinetics, and spectroscopy of plutonium carbonates in solution have been reviewed (113). The solubiUty of Pu(IV) in aqueous carbonate solutions has been measured, and the stabiUty constants of hydroxycarbonato complexes have been calculated (Fig. 6b) (90). 

Although the entire discussion of electrochemistry thus far has been in terms of aqueous solutions, the same principles apply equaly well to nonaqueous solvents. As a result of differences in solvation energies, electrode potentials may vary considerably from those found in aqueous solution. In addition the oxidation and reduction potentials characteristic of the solvent vary with the chemical behavior of the solvent. as a result of these two effects, it is often possible to carry out reactions in a nonaqueous solvent that would be impossible in water. For example, both sodium and beryllium are too reactive to be electroplated from aqueous solution, but beryllium can be electroplated from liquid ammonia and sodium from solutions in pyridine. 0 Unfortunately, the thermodynamic data necessary to construct complete tables of standard potential values are lacking for most solvents other than water. Jolly 1 has compiled such a table for liquid ammonia. The hydrogen electrode is used as the reference point to establish the scale as in water ... 

Each electrode reaction, anode and cathode, or half-cell reaction has an associated energy level or electrical potential (volts) associated with it. Values of the standard equilibrium electrode reduction potentials E° at unit activity and 25°C may be obtained from the literature (de Bethune and Swendeman Loud, Encyclopedia of Electrochemistry, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1964). The overall electrochemical cell equilibrium potential either can be obtained from AG values or is equal to the cathode half-cell potential minus the anode half-cell potential, as shown above. 

Numerous applications of standard electrode potentials have been made in various aspects of electrochemistry and analytical chemistry, as well as in thermodynamics. Some of these applications will be considered here, and others will be mentioned later. Just as standard potentials which cannot be determined directly can be calculated from equilibrium constant and free energy data, so the procedure can be reversed and electrode potentials used for the evaluation, for example, of equilibrium constants which do not permit of direct experimental study. Some of the results are of analjrtical interest, as may be shown by the following illustration. Stannous salts have been employed for the reduction of ferric ions to ferrous ions in acid solution, and it is of interest to know how far this process goes toward completion. Although the solutions undoubtedly contain complex ions, particularly those involving tin, the reaction may be represented, approximately, by... 

Chapter 18 Introduction to Electrochemistry 490 Chapter 19 Applications of Standard Electrode Potentials 523 Chapter 20 Applications of Oxidation/Reduction Titrations 560 Chapter 21 Potentiometry 588... 

Redox Titrations Electrochemistry Chapter 19 Standard Electrode Potentials Chapter 20 Oxidation/ReductionTitrations Chapter 21 Potentiometry Chapter 17 Using Electrode Potentials Chapter 18 Oxidation/Reduction Titrations Chapter 19 Potentiometry... 

The most common reference electrode systems used in aqueous solutions are Ag/AgCl and the calomel electrode. If aqueous-based references are used in nonaqueous solution, however, large liquid junction is produced and often more serious, aqueous contamination of the nonaqueous cell occurs. Thus this combination is not recommended. The use of an Ag/Ag non-aqueous-based reference is suggested for nonaqueous electrochemistry. To avoid large junction potentials, the RE solvent should be as close in nature as possible to the cell solvent system. Often potentials are calibrated with a standard, such as ferrocene or cobaltocene. Suggested standards are listed in Table 2-2, along with reduction potentials and other properties. Construction of an Ag/Ag reference for nonaqueous use is shown in Figure 2-6. Reference electrodes can drift with time and must be carefully maintained. 

Note that by definition, in electrochemistry, the reversible potential of the hydrogen oxidation reaction is zero at all temperatures [5]. That is why the standard hydrogen electrode is used as a reference electrode. Therefore, for hydrogen anodes E,a = OV. Activation polarization of the hydrogen oxidation reaction is much smaller than activation polarization of the oxygen reduction reaction. 

Another troublesome aspect of the reactivity ratios is the fact that they must be determined and reported as a pair. It would clearly simplify things if it were possible to specify one or two general parameters for each monomer which would correctly represent its contribution to all reactivity ratios. Combined with the analogous parameters for its comonomer, the values rj and t2 could then be evaluated. This situation parallels the standard potential of electrochemical cells which we are able to describe as the sum of potential contributions from each of the electrodes that comprise the cell. With x possible electrodes, there are x(x - l)/2 possible electrode combinations. If x = 50, there are 1225 possible cells, but these can be described by only 50 electrode potentials. A dramatic data reduction is accomplished by this device. Precisely the same proliferation of combinations exists for monomer combinations. It would simplify things if a method were available for data reduction such as that used in electrochemistry. 

In spite of the high effort focused on the carbon electrochemistry, very little is known about the electrochemical preparation of carbon itself. This challenging idea appeared in the early 1970s in connection with the cathodic reduction of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and some other perfluorin-ated polymers. The standard potential of the hypothetical reduction of PTFE to elemental carbon ... 

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