2021 Faculty Courses School of Materials and Chemical Technology Undergraduate major in Materials Science and Engineering
Physical Chemistry (Electrochemistry)
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Materials Science and Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Hidetoshi Matsumoto
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Tue (W322)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- MAT.P304
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2021
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course deals with electrolyte solution, equilibrium electrochemistry, and electrode surface process, which provide fundamental knowledge to understand electrochemical reactions and recent applications including fuel cells and energy storage devices.
Course description and aims
Electrochemical cells and electrochemical measurements are based on redox reactions at electrode-electrolyte solution interface. This course facilitates student's understanding of thermodynamic fundamentals of redox reactions, which involve the transfer of electrons between species.
Keywords
Electrolyte solution, Diffusion of ions, Electrochemical cell, Electromotive force, Electrode surface process, Electrochemical measurement
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
At the beginning of each class, solutions to exercise problems assigned during the previous class are reviewed. Towards the end of class, students are given exercise problems related to what is taught on that day to solve. Before coming to class, students should read the course schedule and check what topics will be covered. Required learning should be completed outside of the classroom for preparation and review purposes.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Thermodynamic Description of Ions in Solution | Understand ionic activity, ionic atmosphere, and the Debye-Hückel theory. |
| Class 2 | Motion of Ions in Solution | Understand the Kohlrausch's law, the Stokes' law, ionic mobility, ionic conductivity, and transport number. |
| Class 3 | Equilibrium Electrochemistry I | Understand electrochemical cell, half-reaction, and the Nernst equation. |
| Class 4 | Equilibrium Electrochemistry II | Understand standard potential and its application, equilibrium constant of cell reaction. |
| Class 5 | Electrode-Solution Interface | Understand diffuse double layer and Butler-Volmer equation. |
| Class 6 | Electrochemical Measurements | Understand voltammetry and chronopotentiometry. |
| Class 7 | Applications | Understand energy density and power density. Explain applications such as fuel cell, redox-flow battery, and Li ion secondary battery. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Peter Atkins, Julio de Paula, Atkins' Physical Chemistry, first and last volumes, 10th Ed., Chapters 5, 6, 19, 21, Tokyo: Tokyo Kagaku Dojin, ISBN: 978-4-8079-0908-7, ISBN: 978-4-8079-0909-4
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Materials used in class can be found on OCW-i.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students' knowledge of electrolyte solution, equilibrium electrochemistry and electrode surface process, and their ability to apply them to problems will be assessed. Student's course scores are based on a term-end examination (80%) and exercise problems (20%).
Related courses
- MAT.P204 ： Physical Chemistry (Thermodynamics)
Prerequisites
No prerequisites are necessary, but enrollment in the related courses is desirable.