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The reactivity series is sometimes quoted in the strict reverse order of standard electrode potentials, when it is also known as the "electrochemical series". [8] The following list includes the metallic elements of the first six periods. It is mostly based on tables provided by NIST.
The data below tabulates standard electrode potentials (E°), in volts relative to the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE), at: Temperature 298.15 K (25.00 °C; 77.00 °F); Effective concentration (activity) 1 mol/L for each aqueous or amalgamated (mercury-alloyed) species; Unit activity for each solvent and pure solid or liquid species; and
The electrode potentials are independent of the number of electrons transferred —they are expressed in volts, which measure energy per electron transferred—and so the two electrode potentials can be simply combined to give the overall cell potential even if different numbers of electrons are involved in the two electrode reactions.
The standard hydrogen electrode (SHE), with [ H +] = 1 M works thus at a pH = 0. At pH = 7, when [ H +] = 10 −7 M, the reduction potential of H + differs from zero because it depends on pH. Solving the Nernst equation for the half-reaction of reduction of two protons into hydrogen gas gives: 2 H + + 2 e − ⇌ H 2
To avoid possible ambiguities, the electrode potential thus defined can also be referred to as Gibbs–Stockholm electrode potential. In both conventions, the standard hydrogen electrode is defined to have a potential of 0 V. Both conventions also agree on the sign of E for a half-cell reaction when it is written as a reduction.
The difference can be measured as a difference in voltage potential: the less noble metal is the one with a lower (that is, more negative) electrode potential than the nobler one, and will function as the anode (electron or anion attractor) within the electrolyte device functioning as described above (a galvanic cell).
n is the number of electrons exchanged, like in the Nernst equation, k is the rate constant for the electrode reaction in s −1, F is the Faraday constant, C is the reactive species concentration at the electrode surface in mol/m 2, the plus sign under the exponent refers to an anodic reaction, and a minus sign to a cathodic reaction,
The overall chemical reaction taking place in a cell is made up of two independent half-reactions, which describe chemical changes at the two electrodes. 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]