Experiments in Electrochemistry

Head of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Siena since 1996, Professor Piero Zanello has more than 20years experience in electrochemistry of organometallic and coordination compounds. He has been part of numerous national and international research groups, and is a well-known lecturer and author of scientific papers. 

Elements and Compounds—Chemical Symbols—Molecules—Atoms —Electrons—How Electrons Form Atoms—Explanation of Chemical Activity—Chemical Formulas—Speed of Chemical Reactions—Physical and Chemical Changes—The Law of Definite Proportions—Different Kinds of Chemical Reaction —Classification of Chemical Compounds—The Law of Combining Weights—Solutions—Acids and Bases—Neutral Substances—Organic and Inorganic Chemistry—Electrochemistry —Experiments in Electrochemistry, Pages 7-39... 

Some very beautiful experiments in electrolysis can be produced with very little equipment in the experimental engineer s laboratory. The following lines describe the production of lead carbonate with simple apparatus. As a laboratory experiment in electrochemistry that will be of practical value as well as illustrate some of the most interesting actions of electrolysis, it is recommended to the experimenter. 

They were obtained first with silver in the earliest experiments in electrochemistry (Pristley, 1803), and a large number of metals have been obtained in that form by electrodeposition processes since that time. Examples include Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Pb, Sn, Mn, Zn, Cd, Pd, W, Pt. Detailed surveys of the field are available. 

The use of electrochemical methods to smdy protein and enzyme electron transfer reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and mechanisms directly with electrodes is becoming a mature field. Twenty years ago such studies were rarely conducted outside of laboratories with substantial experience in electrochemistry. Now scientists in diverse fields have taken up cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and other electrochemical methods to study biological systems. Clearly much has been learned about how to conduct reliable electrochemical experiments on complex biological samples using direct electron transfer at electrodes. Progress in this field was slow, and some background is provided to put the current state of this field in context. 

In the middle of World War I, then, the formation of Union Carbide Carbon Corporation brought together production expertise and experience in electrochemistry and gas... 

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