CAPITAL PUBLIC SCHOOL

SESSION- 2023-24

ROLL NUMBER- 56

CHEMISTRY PROJECT

TOPIC- ELECTROCHEMISTRY
SUBMITTED BY- SUBMITTED TO-
NAME:SHUBH VERMA ARUN JHA
CLASS-XII SCIENCE

CERTIFICATE
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT SHUBH VERMA OF
CLASS-XII SCIENCE OF CAPITAL PUBLIC
SCHOOL HAS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE
CHEMISTRY INVERTIGATORY PROJECT ON THE
GIVEN TOPIC “ELECTROCHEMISTRY” AS
PRESCRIBED BY THE CBSE BOARD FOR THE
ACADEMIC YEAR 2023-24. IT IS FURTHER
CERTIFIED THAT THE PROJECT IS INDIVIDUAL
WORK OF THE CANDIDATE.

EXTERNAL’S SIGNATURE:-
INTERNAL’S SIGNATURE:-
PRINCIPAL’S SIGNATURE:-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY SPECIAL
THANK OF GRATITUDE TO MY TEACHER MR.
ARUN JHA AS WELL AS OUR PRINCIPAL
MR.JAY KRISHNA PANDEY WHO GAVE ME THE
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS
WONDERFUL PROJECT ON THE TOPIC
“ELECTTROCHEMISTRY” WHICH ALSO HELPED
ME IN DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH AND I
CAME TO KNOW ABOUT SO MANY NEM
THINGS. I AM REALLY THANKFULL TO
THEM.

SECONDLY, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK

MY PARENTS AND FRIENDS WHO HELPED ME
A LOT IN FINALIZING THIS PROJECT
WITHIN THE LIMITED TIME FRAME.
 INDEX
Sr.No. TOPIC
1. INTRODUCTION
2. HISTORY
3. ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
4. STANDARD HYDROGEN
POTENTIAL
5. NERNST EQUATION
6. CONCENTRATION CELL
7. BATTERY
8. LEAD-ACID BATTERY
9. FUEL CELL
10. CORROSION
 INTRODUCTION
Electrochemistry is the branch physical
chemistry concerned with the relationship between
electrical potential difference and
identifiable chemical change. These reactions involve
electrons moving via an electronically-conducting
phase (typically an external electrical circuit, but
not necessarily, as in electrolytic plating) between
electrodes separated by an ionically conducting and
electronically insulating electrolyte (or
ionic species in a solution).
When a chemical reaction is driven by an electrical
potential difference, as in electrolysis, or if a
potential difference results from a chemical reaction
as in an electric battery or fuel cell, it is called
an electrochemical reaction. Unlike in other chemical
reactions, in electrochemical reactions electrons are
not transferred directly between atoms, ions, or
molecules, but via the aforementioned electronically-
conducting circuit. This phenomenon is what
distinguishes an electrochemical reaction from a
conventional chemical reaction
HISTORy
Understanding of electrical matters began in the
sixteenth century. During this century, the English
scientist William gilbert spent 17 years
experimenting with magnetism and,to a lesser
extent,electricity. For his work on magnets, Gilbert
became known as “ Father of Magnetism”. He discovered
various method for producing and strengthening
magnets.
In 1785, Charles-Augustin de Coulomb developed the
law of electrostatic attraction as an outgrowth of
his attempt to investigate the law of electrical
repulsions as stated by Joseph Priestley in England.
In 1800, William Nicholson and Johann Wilhelm Ritter
succeeded in decomposing water into hydrogen and
oxygen by electrolysis using Volta’s battery. Soon
thereafter Ritter discovered the process of
electroplating. He also observed that the amount of
metal deposited and the amount of oxygen produced
during electrolytic process depend on the distance
between the electrodes. By 1801,Ritter observed
thermoelectric currents and anticipated the discovery
of thermochemistry by Thomas Johann Seebeck.
By the 1810s, William Hyde Wollaston made
improvements to the galvanic cell. Sir Humphery
Davy's work with electrolysis led to the conclusion
that the production of electricity in
simple electrolytic cells resulted from chemical
action and that chemical combination occurred between
substances of opposite charge. This work led directly
to the isolation of metallic sodium and potassium by
electrolysis of their molten salts, and of
the alkaline earth metals from theirs, in 1808.
In 1832, Michael Faraday's experiments led him to
state his two laws of electrochemistry. In 1836, John
Daniell invented a primary cell which solved the
problem of polarization by introducing copper ions
into the solution near the positive electrode and
thus eliminating hydrogen gas generation. Later
results revealed that at the other
electrode, amalgamated zinc (i.e.,
zinc alloyed with mercury) would produce a higher
voltage.

ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
An electrochemical cell is a device that produces an
electric current from energy released by
a spontaneous redox reaction. This kind of cell
includes the Galvanic cell or Voltaic cell, named
after Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta, both
scientists who conducted experiments on chemical
reactions and electric current during the late 18th
century.
Electrochemical cells have two conductive electrodes
(the anode and the cathode). The anode is defined as
the electrode where oxidation occurs and
the cathode is the electrode where the reduction
takes place. Electrodes can be made from any
sufficiently conductive materials, such as metals,
semiconductors, graphite, and even conductive
polymers. In between these electrodes is
the electrolyte, which contains ions that can freely
move.

 GALvANIC CELL
The galvanic cell uses two different metal
electrodes, each in an electrolyte where the
positively charged ions are the oxidized form of
the electrode metal. One electrode will undergo
oxidation (the anode) and the other will undergo
reduction (the cathode). The metal of the anode
will oxidize, going from an oxidation state of 0
(in the solid form) to a positive oxidation state
and become an ion. At the cathode, the metal ion
 in solution will accept one or more electrons
from the cathode and the ion's oxidation state is
reduced to 0. This forms a solid metal
that electrodeposits on the cathode. The two
electrodes must be electrically connected to each
other, allowing for a flow of electrons that
leave the metal of the anode and flow through
this connection to the ions at the surface of the
cathode. This flow of electrons is an electric
current that can be used to do work, such as turn
a motor or power a light.
A galvanic cell whose electrodes are zinc and
copper submerged in zinc sulfate and copper
sulphate, respectively is known as a Daniell
cell.

The half reactions in a Daniell cell are as follows:

Zinc electrode (anode): Zn(s) → Zn2+(aq) + 2 e−
Copper electrode (cathode): Cu2+(aq) + 2 e− →
Cu(s)

In this example, the anode is the zinc metal

which is oxidized (loses electrons) to form zinc
ions in solution, and copper ions accept
 electrons from the copper metal electrode and the
ions deposit at the copper cathode as an
electrodeposit. This cell forms a simple battery
as it will spontaneously generate a flow of
electric current from the anode to the cathode
through the external connection. This reaction
can be driven in reverse by applying a voltage,
resulting in the deposition of zinc metal at the
anode and formation of copper ions at the cathode.

STANDARD HyDROGEN POTENTIAL

To allow prediction of the cell potential, tabulations
of standard hydrogen electrode are available. Such
tabulations are referenced to the standard hydrogen
electrode (SHE). The standard hydrogen electrode
undergoes the reaction
2 H+(aq) + 2 e− → H2
which is shown as a reduction but, in fact, the SHE can
act as either the anode or the cathode, depending on
the relative oxidation/reduction potential of the other
electrode/electrolyte combination. The term standard
in SHE requires a supply of hydrogen gas bubbled
through the electrolyte at a pressure of 1 atm and an
acidic electrolyte with H + activity equal to 1 (usually
assumed to be [H+] = 1 mol/liter, i.e. ph = 0).

NERNST EQUATION
0.05916𝑣
𝛥𝐸 = 𝛥𝐸 0 − 𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑄
𝑛

The above given equation is known as NERNST

EQUATION . This equation was developed to
determine the cell emf with the change in
concentration of solutions in anode or cathode.

CONCENTRATION
CELL
A concentration cell is an electrochemical cell
where the two electrodes are the same material,
the electrolytes on the two half-cells involve
the same ions, but the electrolyte concentration
differs between the two half-cells

BATTERy
Many types of battery have been commercialized
and represent an important practical application
of electrochemistry. Early wet cells powered the
first telegraph and telephone systems, and were
the source of current for electroplating. The
zinc-manganese dioxide dry cell was the first
portable, non-spillable battery type that
made flashlights and other portable devices
practical. The mercury battery using zinc and
 mercuric oxide provided higher levels of power
and capacity than the original dry cell for early
electronic devices, but has been phased out of
common use due to the danger of mercury pollution
from discarded cells.

LEAD – ACID BATTERy

The lead-acid battery was the first practical
secondary (rechargeable) battery that could have its
capacity replenished from an external source. The
electrochemical reaction that produced current was
(to a useful degree) reversible, allowing electrical
energy and chemical energy to be interchanged as
needed. Common lead acid batteries contain a mixture
of sulfuric acid and water, as well as lead plates.
The most common mixture used today is 30% acid. One
problem, however, is if left uncharged acid will
crystallize within the lead plates of the battery
rendering it useless. These batteries last an average
of 3 years with daily use but it is not unheard of
for a lead acid battery to still be functional after
7–10 years. Lead-acid cells continue to be widely
used in automobiles.

FUEL CELL
A fuel cell is
an electrochemical
cell that converts
the chemical
energy of a fuel
(often hydrogen)
and an oxidizing
agent (often
oxygen) into
electricity through
a pair of redox
reactions. Fuel
cells are different
from
most batteries in
requiring a continuous source of fuel and oxygen
(usually from air) to sustain the chemical reaction,
whereas in a battery the chemical energy usually
comes from substances that are already present in the
battery. Fuel cells can produce electricity
continuously for as long as fuel and oxygen are
supplied.
The first fuel cells were invented by Sir William
grove in 1838. The first commercial use of fuel cells
came almost a century later following the invention
of the hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell by Francis Thomas
Bacon in 1932. The alkaline fuel cell, also known as
the Bacon fuel cell after its inventor, has been used
in NASA space programs since the mid-1960s to
generate power for satellites and space capsules.
Since then, fuel cells have been used in many other
applications. Fuel cells are used for primary and
backup power for commercial, industrial and
residential buildings and in remote or inaccessible
areas. They are also used to power fuel cell
vehicles, including forklifts, automobiles, buses,
trains, boats, motorcycles, and submarines.

CORROSION
Corrosion is an electrochemical process, which
reveals itself as rust or tarnish on metals like iron
or copper and their respective
alloys, steel and brass.

Coinage metals such as

copper and silver, slowly corrode through use.
A patina of green-blue copper carbonate forms on the
surface of copper with exposure to the water and
carbon dioxide in the air. silver coins or cutlery
that are exposed to high sulfur foods such as eggs or
the low levels of sulfur species in the air develop a
layer of black silver sulphide.
Gold and platinum are extremely difficult to oxidize
under normal circumstances, and require exposure to a
powerful chemical oxidizing agent such as aqua regia.
Corrosion is deadly for any metal as it destroy the
structural integrity of the metal. Many have been
developed to prevent metal from corrosion such as
painting the metal surface, sacrificial anodes(a
metal which is more anodic is attached to the metal
which is to be protected).

FARADAy’S LAW
FIRST LAW

Faraday concluded after several experiments

on electric current in a non-spontaneous process that
the mass of the products yielded on the electrodes
was proportional to the value of current supplied to
the cell, the length of time the current existed, and
the molar mass of the substance analyzed. In other
words, the amount of a substance deposited on each
electrode of an electrolytic cell is directly
proportional to the quantity of electricty passed
through the cell.
SECOND LAW
Faraday devised the laws of chemical
electrodeposition of metals from solutions in 1857.
He formulated the second law of electrolysis
stating "the amounts of bodies which are equivalent
to each other in their ordinary chemical action have
equal quantities of electricity naturally associated
with them." In other words, the quantities of
different elements deposited by a given amount of
electricity are in the ratio of their
chemical equivalent weights.
An important aspect of the second law of electrolysis
is electroplating, which together with the first law
of electrolysis has a significant number of
applications in industry, as when used to
protectively coat metals to avoid corrosion.