Electron transfer cells

When the e.m.f. of a cell is measured by balancing it against an external voltage, so that no current flows, the maximum e.m.f. is obtained since the cell is at equilibrium. The maximum work obtainable from the cell is then nFE J, where n is the number of electrons transferred, F is the Faraday unit and E is the maximum cell e.m.f. We saw in Chapter 3 that the maximum amount of work obtainable from a reaction is given by the free energy change, i.e. - AG. Hence... 

Metal oxide electrodes have been coated with a monolayer of this same diaminosilane (Table 3, No. 5) by contacting the electrodes with a benzene solution of the silane at room temperature (30). Electroactive moieties attached to such silane-treated electrodes undergo electron-transfer reactions with the underlying metal oxide (31). Dye molecules attached to sdylated electrodes absorb light coincident with the absorption spectmm of the dye, which is a first step toward simple production of photoelectrochemical devices (32) (see Photovoltaic cells). 

The measured emfs of concentration cells of mercury(I) salts are only explicable on the assumption that a 2-electron transfer is involved. This would not be the case if Hg+ were involved [E = (2.303RT/nF) logai/a2 where n = 2 for Hg2 + and n = 1 for Hg+]. 

A voltaic cell produces electrical energy through spontaneous redox chemical reactions. When zinc metal is placed in a solution of copper sulfate, an electron transfer takes place between the zinc metal and copper ions. The driving force for the reaction is the greater attraction of the copper ions for electrons ... 

The redox properties of quinones are crucial to the functioning of living cells, where compounds called ubiquinones act as biochemical oxidizing agents to mediate the electron-transfer processes involved in energy production. Ubiquinones, also called coenzymes Q, are components of the cells of all aerobic organisms, from the simplest bacterium to humans. They are so named because of their ubiquitous occurrence in nature. 

To design a voltaic cell using the Zn-Cu2+ reaction as a source of electrical energy, the electron transfer must occur indirectly that is, the electrons given off by zinc atoms must be made to pass through an external electric circuit before they reduce Cu2+ ions to copper atoms. One way to do this is shown in Figure 18.2. The voltaic cell consists of two half-cells—... 

The approach used in Example 18.5 to find the number of moles of electrons transferred, n, is generally useful. What you do is to break down the equation for the cell reaction into two half-equations, oxidation and reduction. The quantity n is the number of electrons appearing in either half-equation. 

Ultrafast photoinduced electron transfer in semiconducting polymers mixed with controlled amounts of acceptors this phenomenon has opened the way to a variety of applications including high-sensitivity plastic photodiodes, and efficient plastic solar cells ... 

Thus, Experiment 7 involved the same oxidation-reduction reaction but the electron transfer must have occurred locally between individual copper atoms (in the metal) and individual silver ions (in the solution near the metal surface). This local transfer replaces the wire middleman in the cell, which carries electrons from one beaker (where they are released by copper) to the other (where they are accepted by silver ions). 

A salt bridge serves as an ionconducting connection between the two half-cells. When the external circuit is closed, the oxidation reaction starts with the dissolution of the zinc electrode and the formation of zinc ions in half-cell I. In half-cell II copper ions are reduced and metallic copper is deposited. The sulfate ions remain unchanged in the aqueous solution. The overall cell reaction consists of an electron transfer between zinc and copper ions ... 

Three kinds of equilibrium potentials are distinguishable. A metal-ion potential exists if a metal and its ions are present in balanced phases, e.g., zinc and zinc ions at the anode of the Daniell element. A redox potential can be found if both phases exchange electrons and the electron exchange is in equilibrium for example, the normal hydrogen half-cell with an electron transfer between hydrogen and protons at the platinum electrode. In the case where a couple of different ions are present, of which only one can cross the phase boundary — a situation which may exist at a semiperme-able membrane — one obtains a so called membrane potential. Well-known examples are the sodium/potassium ion pumps in human cells. 

A more detailed study of the biological oxidation of sulphoxides to sulphones has been reported165. In this study cytochrome P-450 was obtained in a purified form from rabbit cells and was found to promote the oxidation of a series of sulphoxides to sulphones by NADPH and oxygen (equation 56). Kinetic measurements showed that the process proceeds by a one-electron transfer to the activated enzymatic intermediate [an oxenoid represented by (FeO)3+] according to equation (57). 

The uncertainties given are calculated standard deviations. Analysis of the interatomic distances yields a selfconsistent interpretation in which Zni is assumed to be quinquevalent and Znn quadrivalent, while Na may have a valence of unity or one as high as lj, the excess over unity being suggested by the interatomic distances and being, if real, presumably a consequence of electron transfer. A valence electron number of approximately 432 per unit cell is obtained, which is in good agreement with the value 428-48 predicted on the basis of a filled Brillouin polyhedron defined by the forms 444, 640, and 800. ... 

Conversely, the use of elevated temperatures will be most advantageous when the current is determined by the rate of a preceding chemical reaction or when the electron transfer occurs via an indirect route involving a rate-determining chemical process. An example of the latter is the oxidation of amines at a nickel anode where the limiting current shows marked temperature dependence (Fleischmann et al., 1972a). The complete anodic oxidation of organic compounds to carbon dioxide is favoured by an increase in temperature and much fuel cell research has been carried out at temperatures up to 700°C. 

Electrochemical reductions and oxidations proceed in a more defined and controllable fashion because the potential can be maintained at the value suitable for a one-electron transfer and the course of the electrolysis can be followed polarographically and by measurement of the esr or electronic spectra. In some cases, conversion is low, which may be disadvantageous. Electrolytic generation of radical ions is a general method, and it has therefore become widely used in various applications. In Figures 3 and 4, we present electrochemical cells adapted for esr studies and for measurements of electronic spectra. Recently, electrochemical techniques have been developed that permit generation of unstable radicals at low temperatures (18-21). 

To understand why this is so, recall that cell potentials are analogous to altitude differences for water. Whether 10,000 or 20,000 L of water flows down a spillway, the altitude difference between the top and bottom of the spillway is the same. In the same way, multiplying a reaction by some integer changes the total number of moles of electrons transferred, but it does not change the potential difference through which the electrons are transferred. We return to this point in Section 19-1. 

C19-0123. A cell is set up using two zinc wires and two solutions, one containing 0.250 M ZnCl2 solution and the other containing 1.25 M Zn (N03)2 solution, (a) What electrochemical reaction occurs at each electrode (b) Draw a molecular picture showing spontaneous electron transfer processes at the two zinc electrodes, (c) Compute the potential of this cell. 

C19-0128. A galvanic cell is constructed using a silver wire coated with silver chloride and a nickel wire immersed in a beaker containing 1.50 X 10 M NiCl2 (a) Determine the balanced cell reaction, (b) Calculate the potential of the cell, (c) Draw a sketch showing the electron transfer reaction occurring at each electrode. 

The many redox reactions that take place within a cell make use of metalloproteins with a wide range of electron transfer potentials. To name just a few of their functions, these proteins play key roles in respiration, photosynthesis, and nitrogen fixation. Some of them simply shuttle electrons to or from enzymes that require electron transfer as part of their catalytic activity. In many other cases, a complex enzyme may incorporate its own electron transfer centers. There are three general categories of transition metal redox centers cytochromes, blue copper proteins, and iron-sulfur proteins. 

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