An extremely important class of oxidation and reduction reactions are used to

provide useful electrical energy in batteries. A simple electrochemical cell can

be made from copper and zinc metals with solutions of their sulfates. In the
process of the reaction, electrons can be transferred from the zinc to the copper
through an electrically conducting path as a useful electric current.
An electrochemical cell can be created by placing metallic electrodes into an
Voltaic Cells
electrolyte where a chemical reaction either uses or generates an electric
current. Electrochemical cells which generate an electric current are called
An electrochemical
voltaic cell which
cells or galvanic causes
cells, and external
common electric
batteries current
consist offlow
one orcanmore
be
created
such using
cells. any two
In other different metals
electrochemical since
cells metals differ
an externally in theirelectric
supplied tendency to
current
lose
is electrons.
used to driveZinc more readily
a chemical reactionloses electrons
which wouldthan copper,
not occur so placing zinc
spontaneously.
and
Suchcopper metal
cells are in solutions
called of their
electrolytic cells.salts can cause electrons to flow through
an external wire which leads from the zinc to the copper.

Add annotation to illustration

As a zinc atom provides the electrons, it becomes a positive ion and goes into
aqueous solution, decreasing the mass of the zinc electrode. On the copper
side, the two electrons received allow it to convert a copper ion from solution
into an uncharged copper atom which deposits on the copper electrode,
increasing its mass. The two reactions are typically written
Zn(s) -> Zn2+(aq) + 2e-
Cu2+(aq) + 2e- -> Cu(s)
The letters in parentheses are just reminders that the zinc goes from a solid (s)
into a water solution (aq) and vice versa for the copper. It is typical in the
language of electrochemistry to refer to these two processes as "half-reactions"
which occur at the two electrodes.
 The zinc "half-reaction" is classified as oxidation since it
Zn(s) -> Zn loses electrons. The terminal at which oxidation occurs is
2+

(aq) + 2e- called the "anode". For a battery, this is the negative
terminal.

The copper "half-reaction" is classified as reduction since it

gains electrons. The terminal at which reduction occurs is Cu2+(aq) +
called the "cathode". For a battery, this is the positive 2e- -> Cu(s)
terminal.
In order for the voltaic cell to continue to produce an external electric current,
there must be a movement of the sulfate ions in solution from the right to the
left to balance the electron flow in the external circuit. The metal ions
themselves must be prevented from moving between the electrodes, so some
kind of porous membrane or other mechanism must provide for the selective
movement of the negative ions in the electrolyte from the right to the left.
Energy is required to force the electrons to move from the zinc to the copper
electrode, and the amount of energy per unit charge available from the voltaic
cell is called the electromotive force (emf) of the cell. Energy per unit charge
is expressed in volts (1 volt = 1 joule/coulomb).
Clearly, to get energy from the cell, you must get more energy released from
the oxidation of the zinc than it takes to reduce the copper. The cell can yield a
finite amount of energy from this process, the process being limited by the
amount of material available either in the electrolyte or in the metal electrodes.
For example, if there were one mole of the sulfate ions SO42- on the copper
side, then the process is limited to transferring two moles of electrons through
the external circuit. The amount of electric charge contained in a mole of
electrons is called the Faraday constant, and is equal to Avogadro's number
times the electron charge:
Faraday constant = F = NAe = 6.022 x 1023 x 1.602 x 10-19 = 96,485
Coulombs/mole
The energy yield from a voltaic cell is given by the cell voltage times the
number of moles of electrons transferred times the Faraday constant.
Electrical energy output = nFEcell
The cell emf Ecell may be predicted from the standard electrode potentials for
the two metals. For the zinc/copper cell under the standard conditions, the
calculated cell potential is 1.1 volts.
 Details of the Daniell Cell
English chemist John Frederick Daniell developed a voltaic cell in 1836 which used zinc
and copper and solutions of their ions.