Redox potential thermodynamics

Redox potential (thermodynamic derivation). Suppose we take an electrochemical cell represented by Fig. 2.7. We shall now address the question of both the potential values and the equilibrium state that can be finally attained... 

Electron Transport Between Photosystem I and Photosystem II Inhibitors. The interaction between PSI and PSII reaction centers (Fig. 1) depends on the thermodynamically favored transfer of electrons from low redox potential carriers to carriers of higher redox potential. This process serves to communicate reducing equivalents between the two photosystem complexes. Photosynthetic and respiratory membranes of both eukaryotes and prokaryotes contain stmctures that serve to oxidize low potential quinols while reducing high potential metaHoproteins (40). In plant thylakoid membranes, this complex is usually referred to as the cytochrome b /f complex, or plastoquinolplastocyanin oxidoreductase, which oxidizes plastoquinol reduced in PSII and reduces plastocyanin oxidized in PSI (25,41). Some diphenyl ethers, eg, 2,4-dinitrophenyl 2 -iodo-3 -methyl-4 -nitro-6 -isopropylphenyl ether [69311-70-2] (DNP-INT), and the quinone analogues,... 

It follows from the electrochemical mechanism of corrosion that the rates of the anodic and cathodic reactions are interdependent, and that either or both may control the rate of the corrosion reaction. It is also evident from thermodynamic considerations (Tables 1.9 and 1.10) that for a species in solution to act as an electron acceptor its redox potential must be more positive than that of the M /M equilibrium or of any other equilibrium involving an oxidised form of the metal. 

The effects of concentration, velocity and temperature are complex and it will become evident that these factors can frequently outweigh the thermodynamic and kinetic considerations detailed in Section 1.4. Thus it has been demonstrated in Chapter 1 that an increase in hydrogen ion concentration will raise the redox potential of the aqueous solution with a consequent increase in rate. On the other hand, an increase in the rate of the cathodic process may cause a decrease in rate when the metal shows an active/passive transition. However, in complex environmental situations these considerations do not always apply, particularly when the metals are subjected to certain conditions of high velocity and temperature. 

In the case of CaCl2 and NaCl, the order corresponds with the corrosion behaviour expected from cathodic polarisation curves . The order of aggressiveness of chlorides can also be explained on the basis of redox potentials of the melts, calculated on thermodynamic grounds from the free energies of formation of the appropriate oxides and chlorides . The order of aggressiveness of nitrates is complicated by passivity effects , while that of alkalis in contact with air is... 

From a thermodynamic point of view, apart from charge density and specific charge, the redox potential of lithium insertion into/removal from the electrode materials has to be considered also. For instance, the redox potential of many Li alloys is between -0.3 and -1.0 V vs. Li/Li+, whereas it is only -0.1 V vs. 

Cyclic voltammetry is the most widely used technique for acquiring qualitative information about electrochemical reactions. The power of cyclic voltammetry results from its ability to rapidly provide considerable information on the thermodynamics of redox processes, on the kinetics of heterogeneous electron-transfer reactions, and on coupled chemical reactions or adsorption processes. Cyclic voltammetry is often the first experiment performed in an electroanalytical study. In particular, it offers a rapid location of redox potentials of the electroactive species, and convenient evaluation of the effect of media upon the redox process. 

S.3.3 Electrocatalytic Modified Electrodes Often the desired redox reaction at the bare electrode involves slow electron-transfer kinetics and therefore occurs at an appreciable rate only at potentials substantially higher than its thermodynamic redox potential. Such reactions can be catalyzed by attaching to the surface a suitable electron transfer mediator (45,46). Knowledge of homogeneous solution kinetics is often used to select the surface-bound catalyst. The function of the mediator is to facilitate the charge transfer between the analyte and the electrode. In most cases the mediated reaction sequence (e.g., for a reduction process) can be described by... 

In the ease of the reactive chemisorption the electrode redox potentials assigned to the chemisorption step represent the thermodynamic free energy of adsorption according to AGad - n F Em- This can be visualized by eonsidering the example of the reactive adsorption of an n-aUcanethiolate on a silver electrode surfaee. The reaction is... 

The conspicuous separation between the cathodic and anodic peak potentials was initially interpreted in terms of the simple theory for redox polymers as a kinetic effect of slow heterogeneous charge transfer the thermodynamic redox potential of the whole systems was calculated from the mean value between Ep and Ep ... 

Therefore, polysulfide ions play a major role in the global geological and biological sulfur cycles [1, 2]. In addition, they are reagents in important industrial processes, e.g., in desulfurization and paper production plants. It should be pointed out however that only sulfide, elemental sulfur and sulfate are thermodynamically stable under ambient conditions in the presence of water, their particular stabihty region depending on the redox potential and the pH value [3] ... 

The analysis of thermodynamic data obeying chemical and electrochemical equilibrium is essential in understanding the reactivity of a system to be used for deposition/synthesis of a desired phase prior to moving to experiment and/or implementing complementary kinetic analysis tools. Theoretical and (quasi-)equilibrium data can be summarized in Pourbaix (potential-pH) diagrams, which may provide a comprehensive picture of the electrochemical solution growth system in terms of variables and reaction possibilities under different conditions of pH, redox potential, and/or concentrations of dissolved and electroactive substances. 

From the thermodynamic point of view, the occurrence of a heterogeneous ET event at a liquid-liquid interface is determined not only by the relation of redox potentials between reactants in each phase, but also by the Galvani potential difference. Let us consider the general reaction,... 

The redox potential of Fc obtained from the cyclic voltammetry experiments at the water-DCE interface can be verified by evaluating the thermodynamic cycle given by Eq. (4). It follows that... 

FIG. 3 Comparison of potential scales for redox species in aqueous and DCE phases versus SHE. Redox potentials in DCE were experimentally measured against the couple Fc /Fc. The formal redox potential of this couple in DCE was obtained by evaluating the parameters in the thermodynamic cycle given by Eq. (7). 

In general, thermodynamic stability of a mixed-valence dinuclear complex, which is denoted as a combination of reduced (Red) and oxidized (Ox) sites, Red-Ox, is exhibited as a difference in redox potentials AE° = E°(Ox-Ox/Red-Ox) - °(Red-Ox/Red -Red). This difference is related to the comproportionation constant, Kc, defined in Eq. (1) ... 

This relationship (sometimes called Luther s law) for the transfer of several electrons permits us to calculate one redox potential if the others are known. Obviously, this is an analogy of the Hess law in thermodynamics. Equation (3.2.24) is not restricted to the case where the lowest oxidation state is a metal. 

Cyclic voltammetry is an excellent tool to explore electrochemical reactions and to extract thermodynamic as well as kinetic information. Cyclic voltammetric data of complexes in solution show waves corresponding to successive oxidation and reduction processes. In the localized orbital approximation of ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes, these processes are viewed as MC and LC, respectively. Electrochemical and luminescence data are useful for calculating excited state redox potentials of sensitizers, an important piece of information from the point of view of determining whether charge injection into Ti02 is favorable. 

In redox mediation, to have an effective electron exchange, the thermodynamic redox potentials of the enzyme and the mediator have to be accurately matched. For biocatalytic electrodes, efficient mediators must have redox potentials downhill from the redox potential of the enzyme a 50 mV difference is proposed to be optimal [1, 18]. The tuning of these potentials is a compromise between the need to have a high cell voltage and a high catalytic current. Furthermore, an obvious requirement is that the mediator must be stable in the reduced and oxidized states. Finally, for operation of a membraneless miniaturized biocatalytic fuel cell, the mediators for both the anode and the cathode must be immobilized to prevent power dissipation by solution redox reactions between them. 

---