9.9.A—Explain whether an electrochemical cell is thermodynamically favored, based on its standard cell potential and…

Explain whether an electrochemical cell is thermodynamically favored, based on its standard cell potential and the constituent half-reactions within the cell.

• Electrochemistry encompasses the study of redox reactions that occur within electrochemical cells. The reactions are either thermodynamically favored (resulting in a positive voltage) or thermodynamically unfavored (resulting in a negative voltage and requiring an externally applied potential for the reaction to proceed).
• The standard cell potential of electrochemical cells can be calculated by identifying the oxidation and reduction half-reactions and their respective standard reduction potentials.
• ΔGo (standard Gibbs free energy change) is proportional to the negative of the cell potential for the redox reaction from which it is constructed. Thus, a cell with a positive Eo involves a thermodynamically favored reaction, and a cell with a negative oE involves a thermodynamically unfavored reaction. EQN: ΔGo = −nFEo