Electrochemistry

Abstract

When an electrolyte is dissolved in water (or in other polar solvents) it dissociates into ions. The ions themselves may always be regarded as present essentially only in the aqueous phase. The theory of electrolytic solutions is based essentially on the approach of dilute solution theory, since the existence of a solvent is guaranteed. However, the theory of electrolytic solutions is peculiar in three aspects: first, ionic reactions are extremely fast, and thus may be regarded as being always at equilibrium. Second, the condition of electrical neutrality must always be satisfied. Third, the behavior of solutes in electrolytic solutions, even at infinite dilution, is somewhat different from what it is in ordinary dilute solutions of nonelectrolytes.