Introduction

class="introduction"

Balancing Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
Galvanic Cells
Standard Reduction Potentials
The Nernst Equation
Batteries and Fuel Cells
Corrosion
Electrolysis

class="key-equations" title="Key-Equations"

class="summary" title="Chapter Summary"

class="exercises" title="Exercises"

class="references" title="References"

A photograph is shown of a parked car plugged into a charging station in a paved parking area. The parking area is situated in a wooded area. People are walking in the background in the park-like atmosphere.

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.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

You can also download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/85abf193-2bd2-4908-8563-90b8a7ac8df6@12.1

Attribution:

For questions regarding this license, please contact partners@openstaxcollege.org.
If you use this textbook as a bibliographic reference, then you should cite it as follows: OpenStax College, Chemistry. OpenStax CNX. http://cnx.org/contents/85abf193-2bd2-4908-8563-90b8a7ac8df6@12.1.
If you redistribute this textbook in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution: "Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/85abf193-2bd2-4908-8563-90b8a7ac8df6@12.1."
If you redistribute part of this textbook, then you must retain in every digital format page view (including but not limited to EPUB, PDF, and HTML) and on every physical printed page the following attribution: "Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/85abf193-2bd2-4908-8563-90b8a7ac8df6@12.1."