Electrochemical Potential
electrochemical potential
[i‚lek·trō′kem·ə·kəl pə′ten·chəl]Electrochemical Potential
a thermodynamic function characterizing the state of some component consisting of charged particles (electrons or ions) in a phase of a given solution. Electrochemical potential may be defined as the increment of any of the thermodynamic potentials (seePOTENTIALS, THERMODYNAMIC) of a system upon the introduction of one charged particle of the rth component with all other variables that determine the potential examined remaining constant. The electrochemical potential μ*i is given by the equation
μi = μi + zi eφ
where μi is the chemical potential of the ith component, zi is the charge of the particle, φ is the electric potential, and e is the elementary charge. The term zi eφ expresses the work required to overcome electric forces. When the electrochemical potential pertains to one mole of a substance, the term is equal to ziFφ, where F is the faraday.