Electrochemical Science And Technology: Fundamentals And App

This book addresses the scientific principles underlying electrochemistry. Starting with basic concepts of electricity, early chapters discuss the physics and chemistry of electrochemical cell materials and the properties that make them appropriate as cell components. Electrochemistry is a discipline of wide scientific and technological interest. Scientifically, it explores the electrical properties of materials and especially the interfaces between different kinds of matter. Technologically, electrochemistry touches our lives in many ways that few fully appreciate; for example, materials as diverse as aluminum, nylon, and bleach are manufactured electrochemically, while the batteries that power all manner of appliances, vehicles, and devices are the products of electrochemical research. Other realms in which electrochemical science plays a crucial role include corrosion, the disinfection of water, neurophysiology, sensors, energy storage, semiconductors, the physics of thunderstorms, biomedical analysis, and so on. This book treats electrochemistry as a science in its own right, albeit resting firmly on foundations provided by chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Early chapters discuss the electrical and chemical properties of materials from which electrochemical cells are constructed. The behavior of such cells is addressed in later chapters, with emphasis on the electrodes and the reactions that occur on their surfaces. The role of transport to and from electrodes is a topic that commands attention, because it crucially determines cell efficiency. Final chapters deal with voltammetry, the methodology used to investigate electrode behavior. Interspersed among the more fundamental chapters are chapters devoted to applications of electrochemistry: electrosynthesis,…