CHEM 131: CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERS

ELECTROCHEMISTRY
ENGR. KARLA JANE N. PURACAN
Cellphones

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Laptops

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Portable Music Players

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Bluetooth Speakers

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 Gaming Devices

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Cameras

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 Types of Batteries

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 Oxidation – Reduction Reactions

Reduction is the Oxidation is the

gain of electrons in loss of electrons in
a chemical reaction a chemical reaction

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Rusting of Metals
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Browning of Food

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 Electrochemistry
is the study of the relationships
between electricity and chemical
reactions including both spontaneous
and nonspontaneous reactions
In electrochemical reactions, electrons
are transferred from one species to
another.

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1. Oxidation States

We determine whether a given chemical reaction is

an oxidation-reduction reaction by keeping track of
the oxidation numbers of the elements involved in
the reaction.

In order to keep track of what loses electrons and

what gains them, we assign oxidation numbers.

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 Oxidation
□ A substance is oxidized when it loses electrons
□ There is an increase in the oxidation number of the
substance

Reduction
□ A substance is reduced when it gains electrons
□ There is a decrease in the oxidation number of the
substance
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 Oxidation and Reduction

Here, zinc loses two Here, each of the H+

electrons to go from gains an electron, and
neutral zinc metal to they combine to form
the Zn2+ ion. H2.

Oxidation Reduction
Reducing Agent/Reductant Oxidizing Agent/Oxidant
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 OXIDATION REDUCTION
Oxidation number Oxidation number
increases decreases
Lose of electron/s Gain of electron/s
Oxidized substance Reduced substance
Oxidizing
Reducing agent/reducer
agent/oxidizer
(oxidized) (reactants)
(reduced) (reactants)
Metals are generally
Many nonmetals are
reducing agents
good oxidizing agents
18 OIL RDG
 2. Assigning Oxidation Numbers
An oxidation number is the total number of electrons that
an atom either gains or loses in order to form a chemical
bond with another atom

o Elements in their elemental form have an

oxidation number of 0.
o The oxidation number of a monatomic ion is the
same as its charge.

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2. Assigning Oxidation Numbers

o Nonmetals tend to have negative oxidation

numbers, although some are positive in certain
compounds or ions.
- Oxygen has an oxidation number of −2, except
in the peroxide ion, which has an oxidation
number of −1.
- Hydrogen is −1 when bonded to a metal and +1
when bonded to a nonmetal.

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2. Assigning Oxidation Numbers

o Nonmetals tend to have negative oxidation

numbers, although some are positive in certain
compounds or ions.
- Fluorine always has an oxidation number of −1.
- The other halogens have an oxidation number
of −1 when they are negative; they can have
positive oxidation numbers, however, most
notably in oxyanions.

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2. Assigning Oxidation Numbers

o The sum of the oxidation numbers in a neutral

compound is 0.
o The sum of the oxidation numbers in a polyatomic
ion is the charge on the ion.

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Assign oxidation numbers to all elements in
the following chemical compounds and ions:

ClO- Fe2(SO4)3
NaCl

SO2 I2 KMnO4
Assign oxidation numbers to all elements in
the following chemical compounds and ions:

CaH2 CaO Au2(CrO4)3

+5
LiClO3 Mg3(AsO4)2 K2C2O4
Assign oxidation numbers to all elements in
the following chemical compounds and ions:

+2 -3 +7 -1 -2
Al(NO3)3 Zn3N2 MnFO3

CoCO3 CrBO3 CuS2O3

Assign oxidation numbers to all elements in
the following chemical compounds and ions:

2- ClO3 - PO43-
Cr2O7

2- - HCO3 -
SO3 CN
Assign oxidation numbers to all elements in
the following chemical compounds and ions:

- C2O42- PO43-
BrO4

- - AsO43-
NO2 OH
3. Balancing RedOx Equations

o Whenever we balance a chemical equation, we

must obey the law of conservation of mass: The
amount of each element must be the same on both
sides of the equation. (Atoms are neither created
nor destroyed in any chemical reaction.)

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3. Balancing RedOx Equations
o As we balance oxidation-reduction reactions, there
is an additional requirement: The gains and losses
of electrons must be balanced.
o If a substance loses a certain number of electrons
during a reaction, another substance must gain
that same number of electrons. (Electrons are
neither created nor destroyed in any chemical
reaction.)

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Half-Reaction Method

o This method is used to balance oxidation-

reduction reactions.
o In this method, the equation is separated into two
half-equations; one for oxidation and the other for
reduction.
o Each equation is balanced by adjusting the
coefficients and adding H2O, H+ and e- in this
order (depending on the condition of the reaction.

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Steps in Balancing RedOx Reactions using Half – Reaction Method

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Assign oxidation numbers to all atoms on Balance hydrogen by adding H+ ion(acidic
both sides of the equation to determine sol’n) or OH-(basic sol’n) to the left or right
which are oxidized and which are reduced. side of the half-equation as required.

Write two unbalanced half-equations, one

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Balance charge by inserting e- as a reactant
for the species that is oxidized and its product
in the reduction half-equation and as a
and one for the species that is reduced and
product in the oxidation half-equation.
its product.
Insert coefficients to make the numbers of Multiply the two half-equations by numbers

3 atoms of all elements (except oxygen and

hydrogen) equal on the two sides of the
equation.
7 chosen to make the number of electrons
given off by the oxidation equal to the
number taken up by the reduction.
Add the two half-equations, cancelling

4 Balance oxygen by adding H2O to the left or

right side of the half-equation. 8 electrons. If H+ ion, OH- ion or H2O appears
on both sides of the final equation, cancel
out the duplication.
smooth copper wire is
placed into a clear and
colorless solution of
silver nitrate
a short time the copper
wire looks
after the wire fuzzy and the
is placed in solution has
become light
the solution blue
Over time, the observation
has become more apparent.
There is an obvious buildup of
slivers of silver metal on the
wire and the solution is
distinctly blue.
The blue color of the solution is
indicative of the presence of Cu2+ ions.
In forming the Cu2+ ions, copper must
have lost electrons.

(a) Cu(s)  Cu2+(aq) + 2e-

The accumulation of silver on the copper

wire is proof of where the lost electrons
went.
The silver cations in the solution have
accepted the electrons lost by the copper.

(b) Ag+(aq) + e-  Ag(s)

Equations (a) and (b) are called

HALF - REACTIONS
Oxidation: (a) Cu(s)  Cu2+(aq) + 2e-
Reduction: (b) Ag (aq) +
+ e-  Ag(s)
adding the two equations

(a) Cu(s)  Cu2+(aq) + 2e-

(b) 2Ag (aq)
+ + 2e-  2Ag(s)
net ionic
equation 2Ag+(aq) + Cu(s)  2Ag(s) + Cu2+(aq)
 Examples
Use the half-reaction method to balance the following equation for a reaction that takes
place in an acidic solution.
Cr2O72-(aq) + HNO2(aq)  Cr3+(aq) + NO3(aq)

Balance the following equation by the half-reaction method. It represents a reaction

that takes place in basic aqueous solution.
AsO33-(aq) + Br2(aq)  AsO43-(aq) + Br-(aq)

Balance the following equation by the half-reaction method. It represents a reaction

that takes place in basic aqueous solution.
Ag(s) + HS-(aq) + CrO42(aq)-  Ag2S(s) + Cr(OH)3(s)r