Nernstekvation

The Nernst equation is a fundamental relationship in electrochemistry that describes the relationship between the potential of an electrochemical cell and the concentrations of its reactants and products. Developed by Walther Hermann Nernst, it allows for the calculation of the cell potential under non-standard conditions, where the concentrations of the species involved are not 1 molar or 1 atm. The equation is expressed as: E = E° - (RT/nF)lnQ, where E is the cell potential, E° is the standard cell potential, R is the ideal gas constant, T is the temperature in Kelvin, n is the number of moles of electrons transferred in the balanced redox reaction, F is the Faraday constant, and Q is the reaction quotient. The reaction quotient expresses the ratio of the product concentrations to the reactant concentrations at equilibrium, raised to the power of their stoichiometric coefficients. As the reaction proceeds and concentrations change, the cell potential will also change according to this equation. At equilibrium, the cell potential E is zero, and the reaction quotient Q is equal to the equilibrium constant K. The Nernst equation is crucial for understanding how changes in concentration affect the driving force of a redox reaction and is widely applied in areas such as potentiometry, batteries, and biological systems.