Electrochemical cell

A demonstration electrochemical cell setup resembling the Daniell cell. The two half-cells are linked by a salt bridge carrying ions between them. Electrons flow in the external circuit.

An electrochemical cell is a device that generates electrical energy from chemical reactions. Electrical energy can also be applied to these cells to cause chemical reactions to occur.[1] Electrochemical cells that generate an electric current are called voltaic or galvanic cells and those that generate chemical reactions, via electrolysis for example, are called electrolytic cells.[2]

Both galvanic and electrolytic cells can be thought of as having two half-cells: consisting of separate oxidation and reduction reactions.

When one or more electrochemical cells are connected in parallel or series they make a battery. Primary cells are single use batteries.

  1. ^ Wenzel, Thomas J. (July 30, 2013). "Douglas A. Skoog, Donald M. West, F. James Holler, and Stanley R. Crouch: Fundamentals of analytical chemistry, 9th ed., international ed". Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 405 (25): 412–432. doi:10.1007/s00216-013-7242-1. ISSN 1618-2642. S2CID 94566587.
  2. ^ Wendt, Hartmut; Kolb, Dieter M.; Engelmann, Gerald E.; Ziegler, Jörg C. (October 15, 2011), "Electrochemistry, 1. Fundamentals", in Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA (ed.), Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, pp. a09_183.pub4, doi:10.1002/14356007.a09_183.pub4, ISBN 978-3-527-30673-2, retrieved May 5, 2023