# [SCI] Electrochemistry

**Electrochemistry** is the branch of physical chemistry that studies chemical reactions driven by or generating electrical potential — ionic conduction, electrode reactions, galvanic cells, and electrolysis.

## Overview

Luigi Galvani (1791) and Alessandro Volta (1800) established that electricity could flow from chemical reactions. Michael Faraday (1833) quantified electrolysis: the mass of substance deposited is proportional to the charge passed (Faraday's laws). The Nernst equation (1889) connected electrode potential to temperature and ion concentration, providing the thermodynamic framework for all electrochemical devices.

Electrochemistry underpins batteries (which convert stored chemical energy to electrical work), fuel cells (continuous electrochemical energy conversion), electroplating, the chlor-alkali industry, aluminium smelting, and corrosion science.

## Key Figures & Recognition

- **Michael Faraday** (1791–1867): Laws of electrolysis, 1833. No Nobel (predates prize).
- **Walther Nernst** (1864–1941): Nernst equation, 1889. **Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1920**.
- **Svante Arrhenius** (1859–1927): Theory of electrolytic dissociation. **Nobel Prize 1903**.
- **John B. Goodenough** (1922–2023): Li-ion cathode materials. **Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019**.

## Seminal Papers

- Faraday, M. "Experimental Researches in Electricity." *Phil. Trans. R. Soc.* (1833–1840).
- Nernst, W. "Die elektromotorische Wirksamkeit der Ionen." *Z. Phys. Chem.* 4 (1889): 129–181.

## What This Enables

- **[TECH] Battery Technology** — Electrochemical cells — galvanic, secondary/rechargeable — are the operating principle of all batteries, fromVolta pile, lead-acid to lithium, Li-ion — are the direct practical realisation of electrochemistry.

# Parents

* [SCI] Classical Electromagnetism
* [SCI] Classical Electromagnetism
* [SCI] Classical Thermodynamics
* [TECH] Chemical Industry