An Electrochemical Study of Hydrothermal Reactions at Elevated Temperatures

<p>A high temperature hydrogen electrode concentration cell based on a design published by Macdonald, Butler and Owen1, was constructed and used to study the following protolytic equilibria. Thermodynamic equilibrium constants were derived by the usual method of extrapolation to zero ionic strength. 1. The ionization of water at temperatures from 75 to 225 degrees C in 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 mol kg-1 KCl solution. pK degrees w = 7229.701 /T + 30.285logT - 85.007 2. The pH calibration of 0.01 and 0.05 mol kg-1 sodium tetraborate at temperatures from 75 to 250 degrees C in O.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mol kg-1 NaCl solution. 0.0l mol kg-1 Sodium Tetraborate Solution pH = -0.4830t1 + 5.5692t2 + 7.7167t3 + 8.6983 0.05 mol kg-1 Sodium Tetraborate Solution pH = -0.0455tl + 8.3987t2 + O.2123t3 8.8156 3. The second dissociation of sulphuric acid at temperatures from 75 to 225 degree C in 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mol kg-l KCl solution. pK degrees 2 = 5.3353t1 - 15.9518t2 - 111.4929t3 + 3.8458 pK degrees 2 = 6.1815t*1 + 12.7301t*2. + 3.0660 (up to 150 degrees C) Where the t1 to t3= and t*1 and t*2 are the Clark-Glew temperature variable terms at reference temperatures of 423.15 and 373.15 K respectively2. 4. The acid hydrolysis of K-feldspar to K-mica and quartz at a temperature of 225 degrees C. The determination of the hydrolysis equilibrium constant was limited to one temperature because of the very slow reaction rate at temperatures less than 300 degrees C. log(mK+/mH+) = 4.2 (at 225 degrees C) Where a comparison could be made, the results of this study agreed well with previously published work, with the exception of the second dissociation constant of sulphuric acid at temperatures above 150 degrees C. Accurate values for the molal dissociation constant of the KSO-4 ion pair are required at elevated temperatures before the pK degrees 2 results can be fully evaluated. This research was severely restricted by the unpredictable loss of electrical continuity between the two cell compartments at temperatures above 150 degrees C. The problem appeared to be associated with the non-wettability of the porous Teflon plug which formed the liquid junction.</p>

An Electrochemical Study of Hydrothermal Reactions at Elevated Temperatures

<p>A high temperature hydrogen electrode concentration cell based on a design published by Macdonald, Butler and Owen1, was constructed and used to study the following protolytic equilibria. Thermodynamic equilibrium constants were derived by the usual method of extrapolation to zero ionic strength. 1. The ionization of water at temperatures from 75 to 225 degrees C in 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 mol kg-1 KCl solution. pK degrees w = 7229.701 /T + 30.285logT - 85.007 2. The pH calibration of 0.01 and 0.05 mol kg-1 sodium tetraborate at temperatures from 75 to 250 degrees C in O.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mol kg-1 NaCl solution. 0.0l mol kg-1 Sodium Tetraborate Solution pH = -0.4830t1 + 5.5692t2 + 7.7167t3 + 8.6983 0.05 mol kg-1 Sodium Tetraborate Solution pH = -0.0455tl + 8.3987t2 + O.2123t3 8.8156 3. The second dissociation of sulphuric acid at temperatures from 75 to 225 degree C in 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mol kg-l KCl solution. pK degrees 2 = 5.3353t1 - 15.9518t2 - 111.4929t3 + 3.8458 pK degrees 2 = 6.1815t*1 + 12.7301t*2. + 3.0660 (up to 150 degrees C) Where the t1 to t3= and t*1 and t*2 are the Clark-Glew temperature variable terms at reference temperatures of 423.15 and 373.15 K respectively2. 4. The acid hydrolysis of K-feldspar to K-mica and quartz at a temperature of 225 degrees C. The determination of the hydrolysis equilibrium constant was limited to one temperature because of the very slow reaction rate at temperatures less than 300 degrees C. log(mK+/mH+) = 4.2 (at 225 degrees C) Where a comparison could be made, the results of this study agreed well with previously published work, with the exception of the second dissociation constant of sulphuric acid at temperatures above 150 degrees C. Accurate values for the molal dissociation constant of the KSO-4 ion pair are required at elevated temperatures before the pK degrees 2 results can be fully evaluated. This research was severely restricted by the unpredictable loss of electrical continuity between the two cell compartments at temperatures above 150 degrees C. The problem appeared to be associated with the non-wettability of the porous Teflon plug which formed the liquid junction.</p>

Toward Unified pH of Saline Solutions

Fluctuations of pH in coastal systems are generally surveyed through potentiometric pH measurements. A new concept of a unified pH scale was introduced with the great advantage of enabling comparability of absolute values, pHabs, pertaining to any medium. Using water as an anchor solvent, yielding pHabsH2O, enables referencing the pHabs values to the conventional aqueous pH scale. The current work aims at contributing to implement pHabsH2O to saline solutions. To this purpose, differential potentiometric measurements, with a salt bridge of ionic liquid [N2225][NTf2], were carried out aiming at overcoming problems related to residual liquid junction potentials that affect the quality of such measurements. The ability to measure pHabsH2O with acceptable uncertainty was evaluated using Tris-Tris·HCl standard buffer solutions prepared in a background matrix close to the characteristics of estuarine systems (salinity of 20) as well as with NaCl solutions with ionic strength between 0.005 and 0.8 mol kg−1. The present study shows that for high ionic strength solutions, such as seawater, challenges remain when addressing the assessment and quantification of ocean acidification in relation to climate change. Improvements are envisaged from the eventual selection of a more adequate ionic liquid.

Towards the Understanding of Water-in-Salt Electrolytes: Individual Ion Activities and Liquid Junction Potentials in Highly Concentrated Aqueous Solutions

Highly concentrated electrolytes were recently proposed to improve the performances of aqueous electrochemical systems by delaying the water splitting and increasing the operating voltage for battery applications. While advances were made regarding their implementation in practical devices, debate exists regarding the physical origin for the delayed water reduction occurring at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Evidently, one difficulty resides in our lack of knowledge regarding ions activity arising from this novel class of electrolyte, it being necessary to estimate the Nernst potential of associated redox reactions such as Li⁺ intercalation or the hydrogen evolution reaction. In this work, we first measured the potential shift of electrodes selective to either Li⁺, H⁺ or Zn²⁺ ions from diluted to highly concentrated regimes in LiCl or LiTFSI solutions. Observing similar shifts for these different cations and environments, we establish that shifts in redox potentials from diluted to highly concentrated regime originates in large from an increase junction potential, it being dependent on the ions activity coefficients that increase with concentration. While our study shows that single ion activity coefficients, unlike mean ion activity coefficients, cannot be captured by any electrochemical means, we demonstrate that protons concentration increases by approximatively two orders of magnitude from 1 mol.kg^-1 to 15-20 mol.kg^-1 solutions. Combined with the increased activity coefficients, this increases the activity of protons and thus the pH of highly concentrated solutions which appears acidic.

Towards the Understanding of Water-in-Salt Electrolytes: Individual Ion Activities and Liquid Junction Potentials in Highly Concentrated Aqueous Solutions

Highly concentrated electrolytes were recently proposed to improve the performances of aqueous electrochemical systems by delaying the water splitting and increasing the operating voltage for battery applications. While advances were made regarding their implementation in practical devices, debate exists regarding the physical origin for the delayed water reduction occurring at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Evidently, one difficulty resides in our lack of knowledge regarding ions activity arising from this novel class of electrolyte, it being necessary to estimate the Nernst potential of associated redox reactions such as Li⁺ intercalation or the hydrogen evolution reaction. In this work, we first measured the potential shift of electrodes selective to either Li⁺, H⁺ or Zn²⁺ ions from diluted to highly concentrated regimes in LiCl or LiTFSI solutions. Observing similar shifts for these different cations and environments, we establish that shifts in redox potentials from diluted to highly concentrated regime originates in large from an increase junction potential, it being dependent on the ions activity coefficients that increase with concentration. While our study shows that single ion activity coefficients, unlike mean ion activity coefficients, cannot be captured by any electrochemical means, we demonstrate that protons concentration increases by approximatively two orders of magnitude from 1 mol.kg^-1 to 15-20 mol.kg^-1 solutions. Combined with the increased activity coefficients, this increases the activity of protons and thus the pH of highly concentrated solutions which appears acidic.

Electrodiffusion Phenomena in Neuroscience and the Nernst–Planck–Poisson Equations

This work is aimed to give an electrochemical insight into the ionic transport phenomena in the cellular environment of organized brain tissue. The Nernst–Planck–Poisson (NPP) model is presented, and its applications in the description of electrodiffusion phenomena relevant in nanoscale neurophysiology are reviewed. These phenomena include: the signal propagation in neurons, the liquid junction potential in extracellular space, electrochemical transport in ion channels, the electrical potential distortions invisible to patch-clamp technique, and calcium transport through mitochondrial membrane. The limitations, as well as the extensions of the NPP model that allow us to overcome these limitations, are also discussed.