Electrode reactions oxidation-reduction reaction

In addition to simple dissolution, ionic dissociation and solvolysis, two further classes of reaction are of pre-eminent importance in aqueous solution chemistry, namely acid-base reactions (p. 48) and oxidation-reduction reactions. In water, the oxygen atom is in its lowest oxidation state (—2). Standard reduction potentials (p. 435) of oxygen in acid and alkaline solution are listed in Table 14.10- and shown diagramatically in the scheme opposite. It is important to remember that if or OH appear in the electrode half-reaction, then the electrode potential will change markedly with the pH. Thus for the first reaction in Table 14.10 O2 -I-4H+ -I- 4e 2H2O, although E° = 1.229 V,... 

The chemical process that produces an electrical current from chemical energy is called an oxidation-reduction reaction. The oxidation-reduction reaction in a battery involves the loss of electrons by one compound (oxidation) and the gain of electrons (reduction) by another compound. Electrons are released from one part of the batteiy and the external circuit allows the electrons to flow from that part to another part of the batteiy. In any battery, current flows from the anode to the cathode. The anode is the electrode where positive current enters the device, which means it releases electrons to the external circuit. The cathode, or positive terminal of the battery, is where positive current leaves the device, which means this is where external electrons are taken from the external circuit. 

In an electrochemical cell, electrical work is obtained from an oxidation-reduction reaction. For example, consider the process that occurs during the discharge of the lead storage battery (cell). Figure 9.3 shows a schematic drawing of this cell. One of the electrodes (anode)q is Pb metal and the other (cathode) is Pb02 coated on a conducting metal (Pb is usually used). The two electrodes are immersed in an aqueous sulfuric acid solution. 

Many dehydrogenase enzymes catalyze oxidation/reduction reactions with the aid of nicotinamide cofactors. The electrochemical oxidation of nicotinamide adeniiw dinucleotide, NADH, has been studied in depthThe direct oxidation of NADH has been used to determine concentration of ethanol i s-isv, i62) lactate 157,160,162,163) pyTuvate 1 ), glucose-6-phosphate lactate dehydrogenase 159,161) alanine The direct oxidation often entails such complications as electrode surface pretreatment, interferences due to electrode operation at very positive potentials, and electrode fouling due to adsorption. Subsequent reaction of the NADH with peroxidase allows quantitation via the well established Clark electrode. 

Examples of tunneling in physical phenomena occur in the spontaneous emission of an alpha particle by a nucleus, oxidation-reduction reactions, electrode reactions, and the umbrella inversion of the ammonia molecule. For these cases, the potential is not as simple as the one used here, but must be selected to approximate as closely as possible the actual potential. However, the basic qualitative results of the treatment here serve to explain the general concept of tunneling. 

Analytical methods based upon oxidation/reduction reactions include oxidation/reduction titrimetry, potentiometry, coulometry, electrogravimetry and voltammetry. Faradaic oxidation/reduction equilibria are conveniently studied by measuring the potentials of electrochemical cells in which the two half-reactions making up the equilibrium are participants. Electrochemical cells, which are galvanic or electrolytic, reversible or irreversible, consist of two conductors called electrodes, each of which is immersed in an electrolyte solution. In most of the cells, the two electrodes are different and must be separated (by a salt bridge) to avoid direct reaction between the reactants. 

A unique CL reagent, /n.v(2,2 -bipyridyl)rut.hcnium(II) [Ru(bpy)32+] for the postcolumn CL reaction, was applied to HPLC detection. The oxidative-reduction reaction scheme of CL from Ru(bpy)32+ is shown in Figure 17. When the production of light following an oxidation of Ru(bpy)32+ to Ru(bpy)33+ at an electrode surface is measured, this CL reaction is termed electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL). The CL intensity is directly proportional to the amount of the reduc-tant, that is, the analyte. 

A voltage is applied to the electrode we say it is polarized. A current flows in response to the voltage, and electrons are consumed by electrochemical reactions around the electrodes. Electrolysis occurs. Each electron that flows through the electrode must be involved in a redox reaction, either oxidation or reduction. The electrons entering or leaving the electrode move as a result of reactions occurring in the immediate vicinity of the electrode. Conversely, electrons can travel in the opposite direction (leaving the electrode) to facilitate reduction reactions. 

One easily demonstrated electrical characteristic of moist soil is seen in the production of electricity when two different metals, namely, copper and zinc, are inserted into it. This is not unexpected because any salt-containing solution adsorbed in media, such as paper or cloth, and placed between these same two electrodes will cause a spontaneous reaction that produces electricity. The source of this flow of electrons is an oxidation-reduction reaction, represented as two half-reactions as shown in Figure 9.1 for copper and zinc. 

In addition, potentiometric titration methods exist in which an electrode other than an ion-selective electrode is used. A simple platinum wire surface can be used as the indicator electrode when an oxidation-reduction reaction occurs in the titration vessel. An example is the reaction of Ce(IV) with Fe(II) ... 

The redox reaction takes place in a galvanic cell when an external circuit, such as a metal wire, connects the electrodes. The oxidation half-reaction occurs in one half-cell, and the reduction half-reaction occurs in the other half-cell. For the Daniell cell ... 

There existed oxidation-reduction reactions with the same reaction speed on the sulphide mineral surface in water. One is the self-corrosion of sulphide mineral. Another is the reduction of oxygen. If the equilibrium potential for the anodic reaction and the cathodic reaction are, respectively, E and, and the mineral electrode potential is E, the relationship among them is as follows ... 

This is obtained via combination of the two partial electrode reactions, oxidation and reduction, reaction (9.5) and (9.6), respectively. Thus, in the displacement deposition of Cu on a Zn substrate, a layer of metallic Cu is deposited on the zinc while Zn dissolves into solution (Fig. 5.11). We stated that this reaction is possible since the Zn/Zn system has an electrode potential lower than that of the Cu/Cu system (Table 5.1 and Fig. 5.10). The overall displacement deposition reaction according to Eq. (9.7) can be considered as the reaction of the electrochemical cell... 

The reduction-oxidation potential (typically expressed in volts) of a compound or molecular entity measured with an inert metallic electrode under standard conditions against a standard reference half-cell. Any oxidation-reduction reaction, or redox reaction, can be divided into two half-reactions, one in which a chemical species undergoes oxidation and one in which another chemical species undergoes reduction. In biological systems the standard redox potential is defined at pH 7.0 versus the hydrogen electrode and partial pressure of dihydrogen of 1 bar. 

The electrochemical treatment of contaminated groundwater technology uses direct electrical current applied between two immersed electrodes to produce oxidation-reduction reactions in aqueous solutions. Positively charged metal ions are attracted to the negatively charged electrode (the cathode), where they are reduced. 

Electrochemical detection is based on measurement of the current resulting from oxidation/reduction reactions of analytes at a suitable electrode as a function of the applied voltage. Since the level of the current is directly proportional to the analyte concentration, these detectors are used for both qualitative and quantitative purposes (127). 

Many half-reactions of interest to biochemists involve protons. As in the definition of AG °, biochemists define the standard state for oxidation-reduction reactions as pH 7 and express reduction potential as E °, the standard reduction potential at pH 7. The standard reduction potentials given in Table 13-7 and used throughout this book are values for E ° and are therefore valid only for systems at neutral pH Each value represents the potential difference when the conjugate redox pair, at 1 m concentrations and pH 7, is connected with the standard (pH 0) hydrogen electrode. Notice in Table 13-7 that when the conjugate pair 2ET/H2 at pH 7 is connected with the standard hydrogen electrode (pH 0), electrons tend to flow from the pH 7 cell to the standard (pH 0) cell the measured E ° for the 2ET/H2 pair is -0.414 V... 

C. Electrode Potentials and Gibbs Energy Changes for Oxidation-Reduction Reactions... 

A second way of expressing the same information is to give electrode potentials (Table 6-8). Electrode potentials are also important in that their direct measurement sometimes provides an experimental approach to the study of oxidation-reduction reactions within cells. To measure an electrode potential it must be possible to reduce the oxidant of the couple by flow of electrons (Eq. 6-62) from an electrode surface, often of specially prepared platinum. 

Scheme of a potentiometric setup with an anode (electrode on the right) at which oxidation reactions occur and a cathode (left electrode) at which reduction reactions take place. 

In cyclic voltammetry, the potential applied to the working electrode is varied linearly (Fig. 2.1) between potentials Ex and E2, E2 being a potential more positive (for oxidation) or negative (for reduction) than the peak maximum observed for the oxidation/reduction reaction concerned. At E2, the voltage scan is reversed back to E3 or to another end potential value, E3. The application of this type of potential ramp can be done in a number of ways, varying the starting potential Eu the reverse potential E2, the end potential E3 and the scan rate. The latter is the rate that is applied to vary the potential as a function of time, commonly represented in Vs 1 or mVs"1. 

An electrochemical cell reaction, like any oxidation-reduction reaction, can be written as the sum of an oxidation half-reaction and a reduction half-reaction. In the case of a cell, these half-reactions correspond to the reactions at the two electrodes. Since the cell reaction is the sum of the half-cell reactions, it is convenient to think of dividing the cell potential into half-cell potentials. Unfortunately, there is no way of measuring a half-cell potential—we always need two half-cells to make a cell, the potential of which is measurable. By convention, the half-cell reaction,... 

While such a device has yet to be constructed, Debreczeny and co-workers have synthesized and studied a linear D-A, -A2 triad suitable for implementation in such a device.11641 In this system, compound 6, a 4-aminonaphthalene monoimide (AN I) electron donor is excited selectively with 400 nm laser pulses. Electron transfer from the excited state of ANI to Ai, naphthalene-1,8 4,5-diimide (NI), occurs across a 2,5-dimethylphenyl bridge with x = 420 ps and a quantum yield of 0.95. The dynamics of charge separation and recombination in these systems have been well characterized.11651 Spontaneous charge shift to A2, pyromellitimide (PI), is thermodynamically uphill and does not occur. The mechanism for switching makes use of the large absorption cross-section of the NI- anion radical at 480 nm, (e = 28,300). A second laser pulse at 480 nm can selectively excite this chromophore and provide the necessary energy to move the electron from NI- to PI. These systems do not rely on electrochemical oxidation-reduction reactions at an electrode. Thus, switching occurs on a subpicosecond time scale. 

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