Reversible electrochemical cells thermodynamic properties

The differences in the hydration of a solnte in H2O and D2O have been extensively stndied by measnring their thermodynamic properties, the change of free energy (AG°t), enthalpy (A//°t), and entropy (AY°t) at the transfer of 1 mol of solnte from a highly dilute solution in H2O to the same concentration in D2O under reversible conditions (mostly 25 °C and atmospheric pressure). Greyson measured the electromotive force (emf) of electrochemical cells of several alkali halides containing heavy and normal water solutions. The cell potentials had been combined with available heat of solution data to determine the entropy of transfer of the salts between the isotopic solvents. The thermodynamic properties for the transfer from H2O to D2O and the solubilities of alkali halides at 25° in H2O and D2O are shown in Table 4. 

The third largest class of enzymes is the oxidoreductases, which transfer electrons. Oxidoreductase reactions are different from other reactions in that they can be divided into two or more half reactions. Usually there are only two half reactions, but the methane monooxygenase reaction can be divided into three "half reactions." Each chemical half reaction makes an independent contribution to the equilibrium constant E for a chemical redox reaction. For chemical reactions the standard reduction potentials ° can be determined for half reactions by using electrochemical cells, and these measurements have provided most of the information on standard chemical thermodynamic properties of ions. This research has been restricted to rather simple reactions for which electrode reactions are reversible on platinized platinum or other metal electrodes. 

When an electrochemical cell is set up without liquid junctions it can be used to study the thermodynamic properties of the electrolyte involved. This requires that one electrode be reversible to the cation of the electrolyte and the other to the anion. A simple example is the cell... 

The potential difference between the electrodes in a working electrochemical cell is called the cell potential. The cell potential is not a constant and changes with time as the cell reaction proceeds. Thus the cell potential is a potential difference measured under non-equilibrium conditions as electric current is drawn from the cell. Electromotive force is the zero-current cel potential and corresponds to the potential difference of the cell when the cell (not the cell reaction) is at equilibrium. Infinitesimally small changes from this equilibrium are reversible with constant concentration and, consequently, it is possible to relate emf to thermodynamic properties. 

FIGURE 1.4 Illustration of basic fuel ceU processes and their relation to the thermodynamic properties of a cell. The electrical work performed by the cell, corresponds to the reaction enthalpy, — A//, minus the reversible heat due to entropy production, —TAS, and minus the sum of irreversible heat losses at finite load, Qi. These losses are caused by kinetic processes at electrochemical interfaces as well as by transport processes in diffusion and conduction media. 

Changes in other thermodynamic properties of the cell reaction can be determined with the help of the reversible e.m.f. of an electrochemical cell. Since... 

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