Question

What is the work done by an electrochemical cell equal to?

Answer 1

Work done by an electrochemical cell:

• “Electrical work done in one second is equal to electrical potential multiplied by total charge passed.”
• The reversible work done by a galvanic cell is equal to a decrease in its Gibbs energy and therefore if the emf of the cell is $\mathrm{E}$ and $\mathrm{nF}$ is the amount of charge passed and ${∆}_{\mathrm{r}}\mathrm{G}$ is the Gibbs energy of the reaction;

${∆}_{\mathrm{r}}\mathrm{G}=–{\mathrm{nFE}}_{\left(\mathrm{cell}\right)}$

• Where, $\mathrm{n}$ = number of moles of electrons involved, $\mathrm{F}$ = the Faraday constant, $\mathrm{E}$ = emf of the cell, $\mathrm{F}$=$1$ Faraday =$96500$coulombs.
• If reactants and products are in their standard states,

$\mathrm{\Delta G}°=–\mathrm{nFE}°\mathrm{cell}$