ERIC Number: EJ1445621
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Feb
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: EISSN-1938-1328
Teaching Thermodynamics and Kinetics Parameters in Electrochemistry with Reference to the Sabatier Principle and Volcano-Like Plots for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction at Modified Electrodes
César Zúñiga-Loyola; Maria-Soledad Ureta-Zanartu; Federico Tasca
Journal of Chemical Education, v101 n2 p344-353 2024
Energy conversion devices such as fuel cells, metal-air batteries, and electrolyzers have been envisaged as possible solutions for cutting down the continuous accumulation of greenhouse gases resulting from the combustion of fossil fuel. The bottleneck reaction for these devices is the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) occurring at the cathode. The sluggish ORR force in the use of catalysts is mainly based on precious metals like platinum. Iron and cobalt macrocycle catalysts (MN4) have been widely studied as an economic alternative for replacing the expensive Pt[superscript 0] at the cathode, which is the most active catalyst for the ORR and the industrial standard. Understanding the theoretical and experimental aspects behind this technology is a primary goal for human capital formation and educational purposes. Unfortunately, there is a lack of fundamentals behind the concepts of free energy, adsorption energy, and kinetics. Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters are confused and are wrongly cross-linked. The Sabatier principle and volcano plots are usually misinterpreted. In this propaedeutic work, thermodynamic and kinetic aspects are considered for the ORR at MN4 catalysts to provide a practical guide for students and teachers.
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Teaching Methods, Chemistry, Thermodynamics, Kinetics, Scientific Principles, Scientific Concepts, Energy, Fuels, Energy Conservation
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A