Modeling electrode kinetics

Markov chains theory provides a powerful tool for modeling several important processes in electrochemistry and electrochemical engineering, including electrode kinetics, anodic deposit formation and deposit dissolution processes, electrolyzer and electrochemical reactors performance and even reliability of warning devices and repair of failed cells. The way this can be done using the elegant Markov chains theory is described in lucid manner by Professor Thomas Fahidy in a concise chapter which gives to the reader only the absolutely necessary mathematics and is rich in practical examples. 

As discussed in section 6.1, a relatively exhaustive HRTEM and AFM study was conducted by Mitter-dorfer and Gauckler of how secondary phases form at the LSM/YSZ boundary and how these phases effect electrode kinetics. This study placed the time scale for cation-transport processes in the correct range to be consistent with the theory described above. However, while all this may be interesting and useful speculation, to date no in-depth studies of the LSM surface as a function of A/B ratio, polarization history, or other factors have been performed which would corroborate any of these hypotheses. Such a study would require combining detailed materials characterization with careful electrochemical measurements on well-defined model systems. Given the... 

The physical characteristics of a discharge and the manner in which it is sustained can have a profound effect on the kinetics of plasma polymerization . Therefore, we shall review these topics here, with specific emphasis on the characteristics of plasmas sustained between parallel plate electrodes. This constraint is imposed because virtually all efforts to theoretically model the kinetics of plasma polymerization have been directed towards plasmas of this type. Readers interested in broader and more detailed discussions of plasma characteristics can find such in referen-... 

Why did we introduce this purely experimental material into a chapter that emphasizes theoretical considerations It is because the ability to replicate Tafel s law is the first requirement of any theory in electrode kinetics. It represents a filter that may be used to discard models of electron transfer which predict current-potential relations that are not observed, i.e., do not predict Tafel s law as the behavior of the current overpotential reaction free of control by transport in solution. 

The simplified Gouy—Chapman—Stern—Grahame (GCSG) model is acceptable for the purpose of the analysis of electrode kinetics covered in the present chapter. Comprehensive and detailled treatises on this subject can be found elsewhere [6, 18—20]. 

In electrode kinetics, interface reactions have been extensively modeled by electrochemists [K.J. Vetter (1967)]. Adsorption, chemisorption, dissociation, electron transfer, and tunneling may all be rate determining steps. At crystal/crystal interfaces, one expects the kinetic parameters of these steps to depend on the energy levels of the electrons (Fig. 7-4) and the particular conformation of the interface, and thus on the crystal s relative orientation. It follows then that a polycrystalline, that is, a (structurally) inhomogeneous thin film, cannot be characterized by a single rate law. 

AC/ is known as the overpotential in the electrode kinetics of electrochemistry. Let us summarize the essence of this modeling. If we know the applied driving forces, the mobilities of the SE s in the various sublattices, and the defect relaxation times, we can derive the fluxes of the building elements across the interfaces. We see that the interface resistivity Rb - AC//(F-y0) stems, in essence, from the relaxation processes of the SE s (point defects). Rb depends on the relaxation time rR of the (chemical) processes that occur when building elements are driven across the boundary. In accordance with Eqn. (10.33), the flux j0 can be understood as the integral of the relaxation (recombination, production) rate /)(/)), taken over the width fR. 

In this chapter, we will review the fundamental models that we developed to predict cathode carbon-support corrosion induced by local H2 starvation and start-stop in a PEM fuel cell, and show how we used them to understand experiments and provide guidelines for developing strategies to mitigate carbon corrosion. We will discuss the kinetic model,12 coupled kinetic and transport model,14 and pseudo-capacitance model15 sequentially in the three sections that follow. Given the measured electrode kinetics for the electrochemical reactions appearing in Fig. 1, we will describe a model, compare the model results with available experimental data, and then present... 

A kinetic model is built based on the electrode kinetics of all electrochemical reactions involved in Fig. 1. We have measured the kinetics of HOR33 and ORR34 for the power source, as well as the kinetics of OER35 and COR12 for the load. The electrode reaction currents are governed by... 

Accordingly, the potential dependence of the electrode kinetics is determined by the variation of the activation energy with E, which is established by the position of the transition state on the energy profile in Fig. 1.13. This key aspect has been addressed in different ways by the different kinetic models developed. In the following sections, the two main models employed in interfacial electrochemistry will be reviewed. 

As in BV, the MHC model describes the electrode kinetics as a function of three parameters the formal potential, the standard heterogeneous rate constant, and the reorganization energy. Nevertheless, important differences can be observed between the two kinetic models with respect to the variation of the rate constants with the applied potential. Whereas in BV rate constants vary exponentially and... 

According to Eq. (3.113), the limiting current depends not only on the diffusion transport but also on the electrode kinetics, so it is a function of the reorganization energy and the heterogeneous rate constant. These parameters set the discrepancy in the value of the limiting current between the two kinetic models such that greater differences are expected for small k° and/or X values, short t values, and small electrode radius. 

In Fig. 3.14a, the dimensionless limiting current 7j ne(t)/7j ne(tp) (where lp is the total duration of the potential step) at a planar electrode is plotted versus 1 / ft under the Butler-Volmer (solid line) and Marcus-Hush (dashed lines) treatments for a fully irreversible process with k° = 10 4 cm s 1, where the differences between both models are more apparent according to the above discussion. Regarding the BV model, a unique curve is predicted independently of the electrode kinetics with a slope unity and a null intercept. With respect to the MH model, for typical values of the reorganization energy (X = 0.5 — 1 eV, A 20 — 40 [4]), the variation of the limiting current with time compares well with that predicted by Butler-Volmer kinetics. On the other hand, for small X values (A < 20) and short times, differences between the BV and MH results are observed such that the current expected with the MH model is smaller. In addition, a nonlinear dependence of 7 1 e(fp) with 1 / /l i s predicted, and any attempt at linearization would result in poor correlation coefficient and a slope smaller than unity and non-null intercept. 

The differences between BV and MH also have implications in the concentration profiles of the electro-active species. Thus, whereas the BV model predicts a zero surface concentration of the oxidized species at the electrode surface, in the Marcus-Hush model the surface concentration of species O also depends on the electrode kinetics such that for small values of the heterogeneous... 

Figure 12(b) shows the local current distribution of first and second order reactions and applied over potentials ° for the coupled anode model without the mass transfer parameter y. The figure also shows the effect of a change in the electrode kinetics, in terms of an increase in the reaction order (with respect to reactant concentration) to 2.0, on the current distribution. Essentially a similar variation in current density distribution is produced, to that of a first order reaction, although the influence of mass transport limitations is more severe in terms of reducing the local current densities. 

If the electrode kinetic expression is simplified by neglecting the reverse reaction, the model equation for a cathodic reaction only can be rewritten as... 

An aim of the model is to determine the influence of the various mass transport parameters and show how they influence the polarization behavior of three-dimensional electrodes. In the model we have adopted relatively simple electrode kinetics, i.e., Tafel type, The approach can also be applied to more complicated electrode kinetics which exhibit non-linear dependency of reaction rate (current density) on reactant concentration. 

Several cell configurations are common in electrochemical research and in industrial practice. The rotating disk electrode is frequently used in electrode kinetics and in mass-transport studies. A cell with plane parallel electrodes imbedded in insulating walls is a configuration used in research as well as in chemical synthesis. These are two examples of cells for which the current and potential distributions have been calculated over a wide range of operating parameters. Many of the principles governing current distribution are illustrated by these model systems. 

The Butler-Volmer formulation of electrode kinetics [16,17] is the oldest and least complicated model constructed to describe heterogeneous electron transfer. However, this is a macroscopic model which does not explicitly consider the individual steps described above. Consider the following reaction in which an oxidized species, Ox, e.g. a ferricenium center bound to an alkanethiol tether, [Fe(Cp)2]+, is converted to the reduced form, Red, e.g. [Fe(Cp)2], by adding a single electron ... 

The modelling of kinetics at modified electrodes has received much attention over the last 10 years [1-11], mainly due to the interest in the potential uses of chemically modified electrodes in analytical applications. The first treatment published by Andrieux et al. [5] was closely followed by a complimentary treatment by Albery and Hillman [1, 2]. Both deal with the simplest basic case, that is, the coupled effects of diffusion and reaction for a second-order reaction between a species freely diffusing in the bulk solution and a redox mediator species trapped within the film at the modified electrode surface. The results obtained by the two treatments are essentially identical, although the two approaches are slightly different. 

Let us consider the electrode kinetics associated with charge transfer from an n-type semiconductor particle to an electrode. As indicated by Albery et al. [164], the crucial difference between the electrochemistry of a colloidal particle and an ordinary electrochemically active solution phase species is the number of electrons transferred from the particle to the electrode may be large and will depend upon the potential of the electrode. Fig. 9.5 shows the model for an encounter of a particle with an electrode used by Albery and co-workers. kD is the mass-transfer coefficient for the transport of the particles to the electrode surface. In the simplest case, wherein it is assumed that the lifetime of the transferable electrons (majority carriers of thermal or photonic origin) is greater than the time taken by a particle to traverse the ORDE diffusion layer, this is given by... 

Butler-Volmer equation — The Butler-Volmer or -> Erdey-Gruz-Volmer or Butler-Erdey-Gruz-Volmer equation is the fundamental equation of -> electrode kinetics that describes the exponential relationship between the -> current density and the -> electrode potential. Based on this model the -> equilibrium electrode potential (or the reversible electrode potential) can also be interpreted. 

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