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The terms anode and cathode are not defined by the voltage polarity of electrodes, but are usually defined by the direction of current through the electrode. An anode usually is the electrode of a device through which conventional current (positive charge) flows into the device from an external circuit, while a cathode usually is the electrode through which conventional current flows out of ...
When chemical reaction, especially, redox reaction takes place, we do not see the electrons as they appear and disappear during the course of the reaction. What we see is the reactants (starting material) and end products. Due to this, electrons appearing on both sides of the equation are canceled. After canceling, the equation is re-written as
For example, in aqueous conditions the competing reactions in the cell are the formation of oxygen at the anode and hydrogen at the cathode. In this case a graphite anode and lead cathode could be used effectively because of their high overpotentials for oxygen and hydrogen formation respectively. Many other materials can be used as electrodes.
Corrosion requires an anode and cathode to take place. The anode is an element that loses electrons (reducing agent), thus oxidation always occurs in the anode, and the cathode is an element that gains electrons (oxidizing agent), thus reduction always occurs in the cathode. Corrosion occurs whenever there's a difference in oxidation potential.
A battery's capacity is the amount of electric charge it can deliver at a voltage that does not drop below the specified terminal voltage. The more electrode material contained in the cell the greater its capacity. A small cell has less capacity than a larger cell with the same chemistry, although they develop the same open-circuit voltage. [49]
English chemist John Daniell (left) and physicist Michael Faraday (right), both credited as founders of electrochemistry.. Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change.
In electrochemistry, cell notation or cell representation is a shorthand method of expressing a reaction in an electrochemical cell.. In cell notation, the two half-cells are described by writing the formula of each individual chemical species involved in the redox reaction across the cell, with all other common ions and inert substances being ignored.
In a vacuum tube or a semiconductor having polarity (diodes, electrolytic capacitors) the anode is the positive (+) electrode and the cathode the negative (−). The electrons enter the device through the cathode and exit the device through the anode. Many devices have other electrodes to control operation, e.g., base, gate, control grid.