Electrochemical Potential


electrochemical potential

[i‚lek·trō′kem·ə·kəl pə′ten·chəl] (physical chemistry) The difference in potential that exists when two dissimilar electrodes are connected through an external conducting circuit and the two electrodes are placed in a conducting solution so that electrochemical reactions occur.

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.