Galvanic cells chemical analysis

Potentiometry is used in the determination of various physicochemical quantities and for quantitative analysis based on measurements of the EMF of galvanic cells. By means of the potentiometric method it is possible to determine activity coefficients, pH values, dissociation constants and solubility products, the standard affinities of chemical reactions, in simple cases transport numbers, etc. In analytical chemistry, potentiometry is used for titrations or for direct determination of ion activities. 

GITT also provides very comprehensive information about the kinetic parameters of the electrode by analysis of the electrical current. The current 1, which is driven through the galvanic cell by an external current or voltage source, determines the number of electroactive species added to (or taken away from) the electrode and discharged at the electrode/ electrolyte interface. A chemical diffusion process occurs within the electrode and the current corresponds to the motion of mobile ionic species within the electrode just inside the phase boundary with the electrolyte (at x = 0)... 

In this section, we describe time-resolved, local in-situ measurements of chemical potentials /, ( , f) with solid galvanic cells. It seems as if the possibilities of this method have not yet been fully exploited. We note that the spatial resolution of the determination of composition is by far better than that of the chemical potential. The high spatial resolution is achieved by electron microbeam analysis, analytical transmission electron microscopy, and tunneling electron microscopy. Little progress, however, has been made in improving the spatial resolution of the determination of chemical potentials. The conventional application of solid galvanic cells in kinetics is completely analogous to the time-dependent (partial) pressure determination as explained in Section 16.2.2. Spatially resolved measurements are not possible in this way. 

The combination of chemistry and electricity is best known in the form of electrochemistry, in which chemical reactions take place in a solution in contact with electrodes that together constitute an electrical circuit. Electrochemistry involves the transfer of electrons between an electrode and the electrolyte or species in solution. It has been in use for the storage of electrical energy (in a galvanic cell or battery), the generation of electrical energy (in fuel cells), the analysis of species in solution (in pH glass electrodes or in ion-selective electrodes), or the synthesis of species from solution (in electrolysis cells). 

In principle the activity coefficients yb of solute substances B in a solution can be directly determined from the results of measurements at ven temperature of the pressure and the compositions of the liquid (or solid) solution and of the coexisting gas phase. In practice, this method fails unless the solutes have volatilities comparable with that of the solvent. The method therefore usually fails for electrolyte solutions, for which measurements of ye in practice, much more important than for nonelectrolyte solutions. Three practical methods are available. If the osmotic coefficient of the solvent has been measured over a sufficient range of molalities, the activity coefficients /b can be calculated the method is outlined below under the sub-heading Solvent. The ratio yj/ys of the activity coefficients of a solute B in two solutions, each saturated with respect to solid B in the same solvent but with different molalities of other solutes, is equal to the ratio m lm of the molalities (solubilities expressed as molalities) of B in the saturated solutions. If a justifiable extrapolation to Ssms 0 can be made, then the separate ys s can be found. The method is especially useful when B is a sparingly soluble salt and the solubility is measured in the presence of varying molalities of other more soluble salts. Finally, the activity coefficient of an electrolyte can sometimes be obtained from e.m.f. measurements on galvanic cells. The measurement of activity coefficients and analysis of the results both for solutions of a single electrolyte and for solutions of two or more electrolytes will be dealt with in a subsequent volume. Unfortunately, few activity coefficients have been measured in the usually multi-solute solutions relevant to chemical reactions in solution. 

Obviously, in everyday applications galvanic cells are operated in irreversible fashion during discharge and charge thus, the voltages and operating conditions are not subject to the analysis provided in this chapter. Rather, the near steady state conditions considered here can only be used in a thermodynamic analysis of chemical processes detailed below. 

As his research advanced to the studies of gases and alkali metals, Bunsen recognized the importance of developing new methods to analyze and identify chemical substances. The importance of quantitative analysis was realized in the late eighteenth century. Chemists needed to probe further into a substance s composition in order to help explain the physical world. Bunsen recognized this need and worked to develop new instruments for this purpose. For example, he invented new types of galvanic and carbon-zinc electrochemical cells, or batteries, to isolate barium and sodium. He also constructed a new type of ice calorimeter that measured the volume, rather than the mass, of melted water. This allowed Brmsen to measure a metal s specific heat in order to find its atomic weight. 

Electroanalytical chemistry includes a broad range of techniques that have as their focus the fact that the analyte participates in a galvanic or electrolytic electrochemical cell. All techniques can be classified into one of three major areas those that measure electrical properties of the cell, those that measure cell electrical properties as a function of a chemical reaction in the electrolyte, and those that physically collect the analyte at an electrode for further analysis. 

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