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Chapter 16 | Electrochemistry 847
Chapter 16 Electrochemistry
Figure 16.1 Electric vehicles contain batteries that can be recharged, thereby using electric energy to bring about a chemical change and vice versa. (credit: modification of work by Robert Couse-Baker)
Chapter Outline
16.1 Balancing Oxidation-Reduction Reactions 16.2 Galvanic Cells
16.3 Standard Reduction Potentials
16.4 The Nernst Equation
16.5 Batteries and Fuel Cells 16.6 Corrosion
16.7 Electrolysis
Introduction
Electrochemistry deals with chemical reactions that produce electricity and the changes associated with the passage of electrical current through matter. The reactions involve electron transfer, and so they are oxidation-reduction (or redox) reactions. Many metals may be purified or electroplated using electrochemical methods. Devices such as automobiles, smartphones, electronic tablets, watches, pacemakers, and many others use batteries for power. Batteries use spontaneous chemical reactions to produce electricity that can be converted into useful work. All electrochemical systems involve the transfer of electrons. In many systems, the reactions occur in a region known as the cell, where the transfer of electrons occurs at electrodes.
