Unit 1:
Quantitative Electrochemistry and Ionics [12 h]Quantitative electrochemistry – review of Faradays laws. Conductivity of electrolytes, Kohlrausch law, solubility product and salt hydrolysis. Debye-Huckel-Onsager equation Debye-Huckel limiting law and its testing and improvement conductometric titrations. Aqueous and non-aqueous electrolytes. Mass transfer in electrolytes convection, diffusion and migration, general mass transfer equation – Nernst-Planck equation effect of supporting electrolytes, microscopic view of diffusion, Ficks law, boundary conditions.
Unit 2:
Electrified Interfaces [10 h]Electrochemical cells – cell resistance, standard electrode potentials, reversibility, calculation of emf variation of potential with concentration, pressure and temperature. Interfacial region electrical double layers and their structure. Polarizable and nonpolarizable electrodes. Eletrochemical potentials properties applications. Liquid junction potential calculation minimisation. Applications of potential measurements, reference electrodes, ion-selective electrodes, potentiometry, pH metry.
Unit 3:
Kinetics of Electrochemical Reactions [14 h]Transition state theory, essentials of electrode reactions, Butler-Volmer model, one step-one electron processes, transfer coefficient, exchange current, current over potential equation, Tafel plots, effects of mass transfer, multistep mechanisms, quasi reversible and irreversible processes, microscopic theories of charge transfer- Marcus model, distribution of energy states model, tunnelling and extended charge transfer. Faradaic and nonfaradaic processes, electrode reactions with coupled homogeneous chemical reactions. Theory for voltametric and chronopotentiometric methods.
Unit 4:
Electroanalytical Techniques [10 h]Potential sweep methods linear sweep voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry – reversible, quasi-reversible and irreversible systems. Potential step methods chronoamperometry, polarography-DME-Ilkovic equation, pulse voltammetry normal and differential pulse. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy Bode and Nyquist plots.
Unit 5:
Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices and Processes [14 h]Electrochemical energy storage, principle of working of supercapacitors and batteries. Primary batteries, metal-air and lithium primary batteries. Secondary batteries – lead acid, lithium-ion and lithium polymer batteries. Fuel cells – PEMFC, direct methanol fuel cells. Industrial cathodic processes – electrodeposition of copper, nickel, zinc and chromium over mild steel. Industrial anodic processes – anodising of aluminium, electropolishing electrochemical machining. Electroless deposition.