“Hooked” on Electrochemistry Education

Abstract

Many introductions to electrochemistry and electrochemical engineering take a mathematically rigorous approach to the description of electrochemical phenomena. For many people, a more accessible approach starts with a conceptual and graphical depiction. Accessibility is further enhanced when concepts are tied to known examples of electrochemical systems.The approach introduces a series of modules, each beginning with a real world example system, a hook, with which the reader has experience. Underlying the hook are foundational ideas. Foundational ideas are the anchoring concepts that are explored in detail. At the end of each module, the hook is reexamined in light of the expanded foundational ideas. (See figure illustrating the concept.)Hooks are examples of specific energy technologies, corrosion processes, electroanalytical methods, catalysts, coatings, materials, etc. Anchoring concepts tie to mass transport, electron transfer, homogeneous reactions, kinetics, double layers, among other principles. Anchoring concepts are often buttressed on the mathematically complex, but in this approach, the physical picture and graphical representations provide core appreciation of the fundamental ideas underlying all electrochemical phenomena.In one of the modules, electron transfer of transition metal complexes is an anchoring phenomenon of glucose biosensors. The theoretical perspective on rates of electron transfer buttresses understanding of how glucose biosensors function.An example of a module of a materials system of the conducting polymer PEDOT (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) deconstructs into initial concepts of energy gaps between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). These gaps are related to reduction/oxidation potentials. This module ends with a larger view of the electrochemical properties of PEDOT polymers, infused with concepts of previously introduced rates of electron transfer.The anchoring phenomenon of the double layer is at the heart of electrochemical double layer capacitor (EDLC) technologies. In this module, an understanding of the double layer transitions to understanding of ion transport in solution, where solvents and electrolytes are critical. These key components are reconstructed to understand the operation of EDLCs.These and other content modules capture the complexity of electrochemistry. The learner’s deeper understanding of foundational ideas will enlighten perspectives on other electrochemical systems. Underlying an example system “hook” (the lid) is a box of anchoring concepts (foundational ideas). Lift the lid and the gears of fundamental ideas engage. Return the lid to the box and view the hook in light of the newly acquired foundational understanding. Many small boxes added to a large box build a broad perspective on electrochemistry. Figure 1