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During the early development of electrochemistry, researchers used the normal hydrogen electrode as their standard for zero potential. This was convenient because it could actually be constructed by "[immersing] a platinum electrode into a solution of 1 N strong acid and [bubbling] hydrogen gas through the solution at about 1 atm pressure".
Unlike the standard hydrogen electrode, its measured potential does change with the pH, so it can be directly used in the electrolyte. [1] [2] [3] The name refers to the fact that the electrode is directly immersed in the actual electrolyte solution and not separated by a salt bridge. The hydrogen ion concentration is therefore not 1 mol/L, or ...
Considering the industrial production of hydrogen, and using current best processes for water electrolysis (PEM or alkaline electrolysis) which have an effective electrical efficiency of 70–80%, [68] [73] [74] producing 1 kg of hydrogen (which has a specific energy of 143 MJ/kg) requires 50–55 kW⋅h (180–200 MJ) of electricity.
The decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen can be performed in an electrolytic cell. In it, a pair of inert electrodes usually made of platinum immersed in water act as anode and cathode in the electrolytic process. The electrolysis starts with the application of an external voltage between the electrodes.
Both the oxidation and reduction steps are pH dependent. Figure 1 shows the standard potentials at pH 0 (strongly acidic) as referenced to the normal hydrogen electrode (NHE). 2 half reactions (at pH = 0) Oxidation 2H 2 O → 4H + + 4e − + O 2 E° = +1.23 V vs. NHE Reduction 4H + + 4e − → 2H 2 E° = 0.00 V vs. NHE
When water is submitted to electrolysis by applying a sufficient difference of electrical potential between two electrodes immersed in water, hydrogen is produced at the cathode (reduction of water protons) while oxygen is formed at the anode (oxidation of water oxygen atoms).
A standard half-cell consists of a metal electrode in an aqueous solution where the concentration of the metal ions is 1 molar (1 mol/L) at 298 kelvins (25 °C). [1] In the case of the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE), a platinum electrode is used and is immersed in an acidic solution where the concentration of hydrogen ions is 1M, with ...
To focus on the reaction at the working electrode, the reference electrode is standardized with constant (buffered or saturated) concentrations of each participant of the redox reaction. [1] There are many ways reference electrodes are used. The simplest is when the reference electrode is used as a half-cell to build an electrochemical cell.