BioLibrary › Chemistry › Electrochemistry · Electrodes, cells & batteries
Electrochemistry · Electrodes, cells & batteries: 19 3D models
Every element as an atom, orbitals and bonding, crystals, ions and complexes, real compounds from every field of chemistry, substances in their natural form, electrochemistry and lab experiments (real sizes atoms → lab bench). Each one is a ready-made 3D model you can turn, recolour and place in a figure — open BioDioRama and type its name in the Library search.
- Standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) — The reference for all electrode potentials (0.00 V): platinised platinum in 1 M H⁺ with hydrogen gas bubbled over it at 1 bar.
- Saturated calomel electrode (SCE) — A common reference electrode: mercury in contact with calomel (Hg₂Cl₂) paste under saturated KCl, connected through a porous frit (+0.241 V vs SHE).
- Silver/silver chloride reference electrode — A silver wire coated with AgCl in KCl solution behind a porous junction — the reference inside most pH electrodes (+0.197 V vs SHE in saturated KCl).
- Glass pH electrode (cut-away) — A thin pH-sensitive glass bulb filled with buffered KCl around an Ag/AgCl wire; the potential across the glass changes by 59 mV per pH unit.
- Lead–acid battery (cut-away) — A car battery cut open: lead and lead-dioxide plates with separators in sulfuric acid, six 2 V cells in series = 12 V.
- Alkaline AA cell (cut-away) — An AA battery cut open: manganese dioxide cathode ring, zinc-powder gel anode, separator, KOH electrolyte and a brass current collector (1.5 V).
- Zinc–carbon (Leclanché) cell, cut-away — The classic dry cell: a zinc can anode, ammonium chloride paste, manganese dioxide and carbon around a central carbon rod.
- Button cell (cut-away) — A silver-oxide or lithium button cell cut open: cathode pellet, separator and zinc (or lithium) anode in a stainless steel can.
- How a lithium-ion battery works (intercalation) — Layers of a Li-ion cell, with lithium ions shuttling between a graphite anode and a LiCoO₂ cathode through the electrolyte and separator while electrons flow round the outside.
- PEM fuel cell (exploded) — A hydrogen fuel cell: hydrogen splits on the platinum anode, protons cross the Nafion membrane, and oxygen + protons + electrons make water at the cathode.
- Redox flow battery — Two tanks of vanadium electrolyte pumped through a cell stack with a membrane: energy stored in the tanks, power set by the stack — grid-scale storage.
- Hall–Héroult cell (aluminium smelting) — Alumina dissolved in molten cryolite at ~960 °C is electrolysed between carbon anodes and the carbon-lined cell floor; molten aluminium collects at the bottom.
- Chlor-alkali membrane cell — Industrial electrolysis of brine: chlorine at the titanium anode, hydrogen and sodium hydroxide at the nickel cathode, kept apart by an ion-exchange membrane that only lets Na⁺ through.
- Electrorefining copper — Impure copper anodes dissolve and pure copper plates onto thin cathode sheets in acidified copper sulfate; precious metals fall as anode slime.
- Sacrificial anode (cathodic protection) — A block of zinc bolted to a steel hull corrodes instead of the steel, because zinc is more easily oxidised.
- Corrosion under a water droplet (Evans drop) — A drop of salt water on iron: oxygen is reduced at the rim (cathode), iron dissolves at the oxygen-poor centre (anode), and rust forms between them.
- Electric double layer at an electrode — Ions arranged at a charged electrode surface: the compact (Stern) layer of adsorbed counter-ions and the diffuse layer beyond — the basis of supercapacitors.
- Rotating disk electrode — A disk electrode spun at a set speed in a cell, so the flow of reactant to its surface is controlled — used to measure reaction kinetics (Levich equation).
- Screen-printed electrode (biosensor strip) — A disposable sensor strip with printed carbon working and counter electrodes and a silver/silver chloride reference — the heart of glucose meters and point-of-care tests.