Faraday Laws

• Half-cells are constructed by dipping an electrode into an electrolyte, where the electrode may or may not take part in the reaction
• In the Gas/Non-metal ion half-cell, oxidation potential and reduction potential are relative tendencies, for example, Copper can act as cathode or anode depending on the elements involved
• Standard Electrode Potential (E0) is a measurement of the tendency of a half-cell reaction to occur as a reduction reaction, with potential difference measured in Volts
• The Standard Hydrogen Electrode (SHE) is connected to different half-cells, and the electrochemical series has been developed based on the relative Standard Reduction Potentials (SRP) measured
• To predict the operation of a galvanic cell, the electrochemical series is used to identify the anode and cathode, and determine the direction of electron flow
• The maximum potential difference of a cell under standard conditions is the difference between the E° values of its two half-cells, calculated as E0 cell = E0 Cathode – E0 Anode
• Applications of the electrochemical series include predicting the likelihood of a redox reaction taking place when different chemicals are combined, as it ranks the relative strengths of oxidising and reducing agents
• For a spontaneous reaction to occur, an oxidising agent on the left of the electrochemical series must react with a reducing agent on the right that is lower in the electrochemical series
• Rechargeable cells, also known as secondary cells or accumulators, like lithium-ion cells and nickel–metal hydride cells, can be recharged by connecting them to a charger with a potential difference greater than that of the cell
• During recharging, the cell reaction is reversed, converting the products of the cell reaction back into the original reactants, while during discharging, the cell acts as a Galvanic cell
• Battery life of secondary cells decreases over time due to side reactions that reduce the amount of active material in a battery, with the rate of deterioration directly proportional to temperature