There are many sources of energy available.Methanol fuel cells provide a portable energy source. The process can be represented by the overall equation CH3OH(aq) + 32O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2H2O(g).Deduce the half-cell equations occurring at each electrode during discharge.
Question
There are many sources of energy available.Methanol fuel cells provide a portable energy source. The process can be represented by the overall equation CH3OH(aq) + 32O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2H2O(g).Deduce the half-cell equations occurring at each electrode during discharge.
Solution
The overall reaction can be broken down into two half-cell reactions, one for the oxidation half-reaction and one for the reduction half-reaction.
- Oxidation half-reaction (at the anode): Methanol (CH3OH) is oxidized to carbon dioxide (CO2). This can be represented as:
CH3OH(aq) → CO2(g) + 6H+(aq) + 6e-
- Reduction half-reaction (at the cathode): Oxygen (O2) is reduced to water (H2O). This can be represented as:
3/2 O2(g) + 6H+(aq) + 6e- → 3H2O(l)
These half-cell reactions show what happens at each electrode during the discharge of a methanol fuel cell.
Similar Questions
Direct source of energy for cell processes
Fuel cells convert the energy from hydrogen directly into electrical energy through what process?
A device that converts energy of combustion of fuels like hydrogen and methane, directly into electrical energy is known as
el CellsA fuel cell is a galvanic cell that uses traditional combustive fuels, most often hydrogen or methane, that are continuously fed into the cell along with an oxidant. (An alternative, but not very popular, name for a fuel cell is a flow battery.) Within the cell, fuel and oxidant undergo the same redox chemistry as when they are combusted, but via a catalyzed electrochemical that is significantly more efficient. For example, a typical hydrogen fuel cell uses graphite electrodes embedded with platinum-based catalysts to accelerate the two half-cell reactions:
State the energy conversion in an electrochemical cell
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