Advanced Electrochemistry

Properties of electrochemical energy storers: Discharge plot, Ragone plot, measure of battery performance, charging and discharging of batteries, electrochemical capacitors as energy storers, storage density, energy density.

Classical Batteries: (i) Lead Acid (ii) Nickel –Cadmium (iii) Zinc – Manganese dioxide

Modern Batteries (i) Zinc- Air (ii) Nickel – Metal Hydride (iii) Lithium Battery (iv) Lithium ion Battery

Electrochemical corrosion of metals, thermodynamics and stability of metals, potential –pH  (or Pourbaix) diagrams, uses and abuses, corrosion current and corrosion potential: Evans diagram.

Measurement of corrosion rate: weight loss method and electrochemical method.

Inhibition of corrosion: cathodic and anodic protection (i) by addition of substances to the electrolytic environment (ii) by charging corroding metal from external source, organic inhibition: the fuller story, green inhibitors.

Passivation: nature of the passive layer, structure of the passive film, methods of passivation, depassivation, localized corrosion.

Electrochemical Generators (Fuel Cells): efficiency, kinetics of fuel cell reactions. types of fuel cells: alkaline fuel cell, phosphoric acid fuel cell, high temperature fuel cell, solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell, direct MeOH fuel cell, molten carbonate fuel cell, solid oxide fuel cell, applications of fuel cells.  

Energy options: hydrogen economy, introduction, hydrogen production, hydrogen transmission, storage and distribution, hydrogen fueled equipments, local electricity, production from hydrogen, hazards and safety aspects of hydrogen.

Chemical catalysis and electrocatalysis, cathodic and anodic electro catalysis, electrocatalysis and adsorption effects, mechanism of electrocatalysis, volcanoes, metal electrodes-influence of the nature of the metal, influence of surface state and structure, highly dispersed metal catalyst, binary and multi component metal catalysts (metal alloys and adatoms), non-metallic catalysts, metal complexes with organic ligands.

Bio catalysis: Enzymes, immobilization, practical application of enzymes as electrode.

Environmentally oriented electrochemistry: electrochemistry of water splitting, superelectrolyzers, photo electrochemical splitting of water, solar hydrogen production, fixing of CO₂, mechanism of CO₂ reduction, photochemical reduction of CO_2, removal of wastes. Electrochemical decontamination of soil.

Electrochemical Sensors: Enzyme based sensors, affinity biosensors, gas sensors.