Further biographies and definitions contributed to the “Electrochemical Dictionary” (2nd Edition, edited by Allen J. Bard, György Inzelt, and Fritz Scholz)

The Electrochemical Dictionary is intended to provide authoritative definitions of terms used in electrochemistry and related fields. The Dictionary also contains biographies of people who have made significant contributions to electrochemistry. This document contains biographies of people who have made significant contributions to electrochemistry, including Drude (Paul Karl Ludwig), Grahame (David Caldwell), Stern (Otto), Thomson (Joseph John), and Weaver (Michael J.). The document also contains definitions of some diverse terms used in electrochemistry and related fields, including Capacitance (General Theory), Drude Model, and Impedance Bridge Methods

The prebiotic soup

The prebiotic sou

Obituary: Prof. Laurence Declan Burke, MRIA (1939 – 2011)

Laurence Declan Burke has died

The thermodynamics of solid-solid interfaces in systems of fixed mass

The textbook approach to interfacial excess quantities, due to Gibbs, is valid only at fixed volume. In the present work we develop an alternative approach to interfacial excess quantities, valid at fixed mass. For solid-solid interfaces this has several advantages over the Gibbs treatment such as (a) non-zero interfacial excess volumes appear naturally in the treatment, (b) analogues of the bulk phase Maxwell relations are readily obtained, and (c) formulae for the pressure dependence and temperature dependence of the interfacial tension are derived in a transparent way

Discovery of a single molecule transistor in photosystem II

Quantum theory is used to rationalize the results of recent high-precision X-ray diffraction studies of photosystem II. It is proposed that a single molecule transistor regulates the flow of electrons through this remarkable system. At the core of the device, electrons flow through an iron(II) d-orbital by a process of superexchange, at a rate which is gated by the ambient ligand field. The transistor operates in the negative feedback mode, and its existence suggests that man-made molecular logic gates are technologically feasible. We believe this is the first recorded example of a single molecule electronic transistor in a living system

DNA

DN

Obituary: Prof. John O'Mara Bockris (1923-2013)

Obituary: Prof. John O'Mara Bockris (1923-2013

The definition of electrochromism

Many experimental studies of electrochromism have been reported in the scientific literature, but the terminology is still not settled, particularly for the case in which an electrochromic material forms the load in an electrical circuit. In the present work, two new terms are introduced to help clarify this situation. These terms are “dielectric electrochromism” and “faradaic electrochromism”. The first term applies to the case where an applied electric current causes a change in the energy of the electronic states in the material, while the second term applies to the case where an applied electric current causes a change in the occupation number of the electronic states in the material. Precise definitions are given of both terms

Surface thermodynamics reconsidered. Derivation of the Gokhshtein relations from the Gibbs potential and a new approach to surface stress

The terminology and definition of surface tension are discussed. In particular, the surface tension is defined as the partial derivative of the surface excess Gibbs energy with respect to an infinitesimal increment of surface area at constant temperature and pressure. The surface tension is also formulated as the sum of a stress-free component and a stress-containing component. The stress-containing component is defined as the surface stress. Finally, the case of charged surfaces is analyzed, and the Gokhshtein relations are derived from the Gibbs potential in the special case that the electrode/solution interface is ideally polarizable

The theory of electron transfer

This article provides an overview of the theory of electron transfer. Emphasis is placed on the history of key ideas, and on the definition of difficult terms. Among the topics considered are the quantum formulation of electron transfer, the role of thermal fluctuations, the structures of transition states, and the physical models of rate constants. The special case of electron transfer from a metal electrode to a molecule in solution is described in detail