For general reaction of some redox system
dependence of electrode potential of redox system upon activity of oxidised and reduced form in solution is described in Nernst’s equation for electrode potential:
where E = to electrode potential of redox system
E° = standard electrode potential of redox system
R = universal gas constant
T = thermodymical temperature
F = Faraday’s constant
z = number of electrons exchanged in redox reaction
aO = activity of oxidised form
aR = activity of reduced form
n = stechiometrical coefficient of oxidised form
m = stechiometrical coefficient of reduced form
Conditional or formal electrode potential (E°’) is equal to electrode potential (E) when overall concentrations of oxidised and reduced form in all its forms in a solution are equal to one. Conditional electrode potential includes all effects made by reactions that do not take part in the electron exchange, but lead to change of ion power, changes of pH, hydrolysis, complexing, precipitating, etc.
At 298 K (25 °C) and by converting natural (Napierian) logarithms into decimal (common, or Briggian) logarithms, Nernst’s equation for electrode potential can be written as follows:
Electrode potential is defined as the potential of a cell consisting of the electrode in question acting as a cathode and the standard hydrogen electrode acting as an anode. Reduction always takes place at the cathode, and oxidation at the anode. According to the IUPAC convention, the term electrode potential is reserved exclusively to describe half-reactions written as reductions. The sign of the half-cell in question determines the sign of an electrode potential when it is coupled to a standard hydrogen electrode.
Electrode potential is defined by measuring the potential relative to a standard hydrogen half cell
The convention is to designate the cell so that the oxidised form is written first. For example
The e.m.f. of this cell is
By convention, at p(H2) = 101325 Pa and a(H+) = 1.00, the potential of the standard hydrogen electrode is 0.000 V at all temperatures. As a consequence of this definition, any potential developed in a galvanic cell consisting of a standard hydrogen electrode and some other electrode is attributed entirely to the other electrode
Standard electrode potential (E°) (standard reduction potentials) are defined by measuring the potential relative to a standard hydrogen electrode using 1 mol solution at 25 °C. The convention is to designate the cell so that the oxidised form is written first. For example,
The e.m.f. of this cell is -0.76 V and the standard electrode potential of the Zn2+|Zn half cell is -0.76 V.
Electrode of the first kind is a simple metal electrode immersed in a solution containing its own ion (e.g., silver immersed in a silver nitrate solution). The equilibrium potential of this electrode is a function of the concentration (more correctly of activity) of the cation of the electrode metal in the solution (see Nernst’s electrode potential equation).
The Heyrovsky-Ilkovic equation describes the entire current-potential curve (polarographic wave) of a reversible redox system in polarography
where R is the gas constant, T is the absolute temperature, F is the Faraday constant, n denotes the number of electrons taking part in the electrode reaction. E1/2 is a unique potential (for a given reaction and supporting electrolyte) termed the half-wave potential.
In order to obtain E1/2 from the above equation, we plot a graph of ln[(id-i)/i] against E. The intercept on the x-axis gives then an accurate value of E1/2. The slope of the obtained straight line is equal to nF/RT from which n is determined.
Calomel electrode is a type of half cell in which the electrode is mercury coated with calomel (Hg2Cl2) and the electrolyte is a solution of potassium chloride and saturated calomel. In the calomel half cell the overall reaction is
Table: Dependence of potential of calomel electrode upon temperature and concentration of KCl according to standard hydrogen electrode
Potential vs. SHE / V | |||
---|---|---|---|
t / °C | 0.1 mol dm-3 | 3.5 mol dm-3 | sat. solution |
15 | 0.3362 | 0.254 | 0.2511 |
20 | 0.3359 | 0.252 | 0.2479 |
25 | 0.3356 | 0.250 | 0.2444 |
30 | 0.3351 | 0.248 | 0.2411 |
35 | 0.3344 | 0.246 | 0.2376 |
Electrodes of the second kind are metal electrodes assembly with the equilibrium potential being a function of the concentration of an anion in the solution. Typical examples are the silver/silver-chloride electrode and the calomel electrode. The potential of the metal is controlled by the concentration of its cation in the solution, but this, in turn, is controlled by the anion concentration in the solution through the solubility product of the slightly soluble metal salt. Contrast with electrode of the first kind and electrode of the third kind.
Electrode of the third kind is a metal electrode assembly with the equilibrium potential being a function of the concentration of a cation, other than the cation of the electrode metal, in the solution. The assembly consists of a metal in contact with two slightly soluble salts (one containing the cation of the solid metal, the other the cation to be determined, with both salts having a common anion) immersed in a solution containing a salt of the second metal (e.g., zinc metal--zinc oxalate--calcium oxalate--calcium salt solution). The potential of the metal is controlled by the concentration of its cation in the solution, but this is controlled by the anion concentration in the solution through the solubility product of the slightly soluble metal salt, which, in turn is controlled by the concentration of the cation of the second slightly soluble salt. These electrodes are very sluggish and unstable due to a series of equilibria to be established to produce a stable potential.
Ilkovic equation is a relation used in polarography relating the diffusion current (id) and the concentration of the depolarizer (c), which is the substance reduced or oxidized at the dropping mercury electrode. The Ilkovic equation has the form
Where k is a constant which includes Faraday constant, π and the density of mercury, and has been evaluated at 708 for max current and 607 for average current, D is the diffusion coefficient of the depolarizer in the medium (cm2/s), n is the number of electrons exchanged in the electrode reaction, m is the mass flow rate of Hg through the capillary (mg/sec), and t is the drop lifetime in seconds, and c is depolarizer concentration in mol/cm3.
The equation is named after the scientist who derived it, the Slovak chemist, Dionýz Ilkovič 1907-1980).
Generalic, Eni. "Nernst%E2%80%99s electrode potential equation." Croatian-English Chemistry Dictionary & Glossary. 29 June 2022. KTF-Split. {Date of access}. <https://glossary.periodni.com>.
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