Electrochemical Science and Technology
Information Resource (ESTIR)
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/)
Historic publications in electrochemistry
Revision date: November 11, 2009.
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This compilation contains links to historic publications in electrochemistry available on the Internet. Publications reporting the discovery of a new scientific phenomenon or a new technology.
Additions and corrections are welcome, send them to: nagyz@email.unc.edu.
See also a listing of websites on the history of electrochemistry (http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/inet.htm#hist).
Many electrochemistry books published between the 1700's and 1950 (some more historical than others) are now also available on the Internet.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/old-books.htm)
The discovery of “passivity” of iron by Keir
The discovery of “animal electricity” by Galvani
The first battery, the "Volta pile"
The first “electrolytic decomposition of water” (using the Volta pile) by Nicholson and Carlisle
The discovery of “electroplating” by Brugnatelli
- Electrodeposition of metals in rough (dendritic/mossy) form was observed as early 1800 and published in 1801. See the Nicholson-Carlisle paper (on water electrolysis) above; and also by William Cruickshank, at the same link as the Nicholson-Carlisle paper, starting at pages 187 and 254.
- Galvanism
Luigi Vincenzo Brugnatelli, The Philosophical Magazine, Vol. 21, p 187, 1805.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-36-Brugnatelli.pdf)
The discovery and electrolytic preparation of “alkali metals” by Davy
The discovery of “sacrificial cathodic corrosion protection” by Davy
The discovery of "Faraday's Laws of electrolysis" and evidence for the "chemical theory" of Volta's pile
- Experimental Researches in Electricity, Third Series. §. 7. Identity of Electricities derived from different sources. §. 8. Relation by measure of common and voltaic Electricity.
Michael Faraday, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 123, pp 23-54, 1833.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-04-Faraday-3.pdf)
- Experimental Researches in Electricity, Fifth Series. §. 11. On Electro-chemical Decomposition. ¶ i. New conditions of Electro-chemical Decomposition. ¶ ii. Influence of Water in Electro-chemical Decomposition. ¶ iii. Theory of Electro-chemical Decomposition.
Michael Faraday, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 123, pp 675-710, 1833.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-05-Faraday-5.pdf)
- Experimental Researches in Electricity, Seventh Series. §. 11. On Electro-chemical Decomposition, continued. ¶ iv. On some general conditions of Electro-decomposition. ¶ v. On a new Measurer of Volta-electricity. ¶ vi. On the primitive or secondary character of bodies evolved in Electro-decomposition. ¶ vii. On the definite nature and extent of Electro-chemical Decompositions. § 13. On the absolute quantity of Electricity associated with the particles or atoms of Matter.
Michael Faraday, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 124, pp 77-122, 1834.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-06-Faraday-7.pdf)
- Experimental Researches in Electricity, Eighth Series. §. 14. On the Electricity of the Voltaic Pile; its source, quantity, intensity, and general characters. ¶ i. On simple Voltaic Circles. ¶ ii. On the intensity necessary for Electrolyzation. ¶ iii. On associated Voltaic Circles, or the Voltaic Battery. ¶ iv. On the resistance of an Electrolyte to Electrolytic action. ¶ v. General remarks on the active Voltaic Battery.
Michael Faraday, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 124, pp 425-470, 1834.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-07-Faraday-8.pdf)
- Experimental Researches in Electricity, Tenth Series. §. 16. On an improved form of the Voltaic Battery. §. 17. Some practical results respecting the construction and use of the Voltaic Battery.
Michael Faraday, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 125, pp 263-274, 1835.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-08-Faraday-10.pdf)
- The complete Experimental Researches in Electricity, Series 1 through 14, (published originally in the Philosophical Transactions, 1832-1838) was reprinted and published in a book form by Faraday in 1839. The second edition of that book is available at:
Experimental Researches in Electricity, (Vol. 1, 2nd ed)
Michael Faraday, Richard and John Edward Taylor, London, 1849.
(http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k94883h.image.r=Faraday.f3.langFR)
The discovery of “electroforming or electrotyping” by De la Rue and Jacobi
- On Voltaic Electricity, and on the effects of a Battery charged with Sulphate of Copper
Warren De la Rue, The London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Ser. 3, Vol. 9, pp 484-487, 1936.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-26-Rue.pdf)
- On the Method of producing Copies of engraved Copper-plates by Voltaic Action;…
Moritz Hermann Jacobi, The London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Ser. 3, Vol. 15, pp 161-165, 1939.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-27-Jacobi.pdf)
The “Daniell cell”, the first practical and widely-used laboratory power source after the Volta pile
The first observation of the “hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell” effect by Schoenbein and Grove
- On the Voltaic Polarization of certain Solid and Fluid Substances
Christian Friedrich Schoenbein, The London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Ser. 3, Vol. 14, pp 43-45, 1939.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-14-Schoenbein.pdf)
- On Voltaic Series and the Combination of Gases by Platinum
William Robert Grove, The London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Ser. 3, Vol. 14, pp 127-130, 1939.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-15-Grove-1.pdf)
- On the polarized Condition of Platina Electrodes, and the theory of secondary Piles
William Robert Grove, The London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Ser. 3, Vol. 14, pp 446-449, 1939.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-24-Grove-2.pdf)
The first electrolytic preparation of “magnesium” by Bunsen
The concept and model of the double layer on the interfaces of colloidal suspensions (subsequently extended to surfaces of metal electrodes, and it is known today as the "Helmholtz layer")
The first electrolytic preparation of “aluminum” by Bunsen
The first electrolytic preparation of “fluorine” by Frémy
- Recherches sur les Fluorures
Edmond Frémy, Annales de chimie et de physique, Vol. 47, pp 5-50, 1856.
(http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k34788q.image.r=Annales+de+chimie+et+de+physique.f4.langFR)
The discovery of “lead – lead oxide cell” by Planté. This was the basis for the first commercial “lead-acid battery (secondary cell)”.
- Note sur la polarisation voltaique
Gaston Planté, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, Paris, Vol. 49, pp 402-405, 1859.
(http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3006f.image.r=Comptes+rendus+hebdomadaires+des+s%C3%A9ances+de+l.f404.langFR)
- Nouvelle pile secondaire d’une grande puissance
Gaston Planté, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, Paris, Vol. 50, pp 640-642, 1860.
(http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3007r.image.r=Comptes+rendus+hebdomadaires+des+s%C3%A9ances+de+l.f652.langFR)
The discovery of “Leclanché cell”. This was the basis for the first commercial “dry-cell”.
- Georges Leclanché, French patents 69,980 and 71,865, 1866.
- Nouvelle pile au peroxyde de manganèse
Georges Leclanché, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, Paris, Vol. 83, pp 54-56, 1876.
(http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3040p.image.r=Comptes+rendus+hebdomadaires+des+s%C3%A9ances+de+l.f54.langFR)
- Méthode pratique pour expérimenter un élément de pile
Georges Leclanché, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, Paris, Vol. 83, pp 1236-1238, 1876.
(http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3040p.image.r=Comptes+rendus+hebdomadaires+des+s%C3%A9ances+de+l.f1230.langFR)
The first, resonably practical "hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell"
- A New Form of Gas Battery
Ludwig Mond and Carl Langer, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Vol 46, pp 296-304, 1889.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-10-Mond.pdf)
The "Nernst equation” of electrode potential
- Die elektromotorische Wirksamkeit der Ionen
Walther Nernst, Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie, Stöchiometrie und Verwandtschaftslehre, Vol. 4, pp 129-181, 1890.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-13-Nernst.pdf)
Introduction of the concept of "fuel cells or cold combustion" by Ostwald to circumvent the thermodynamic limitation of heat engines by using a single-step conversion of the fuel's chemical energy into electrical energy
A very detailed “history of electrochemistry” by Wilhelm Ostwald, covering the field from its earliest beginnings till the end of the 19th century
- Elektrochemie: Ihre Geschichte und Lehre
Wilhelm Ostwald, Verlag von Veit & Comp., Leipzig, 1896.
(http://www.archive.org/details/elektrochemieih00ostwgoog)
An English translation is available in hard copy form. Electrochemistry: history and theory (2 volumes), Translated by N. P. Date, Published for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, by Amerind Publ. Co., New Delhi, 1980.
The “Tafel equation” of overpotential
- Über die Polarisation bei kathodischer Wasserstoffentwicklung
Julius Tafel, Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie, Stöchiometrie und Verwandtschaftslehre, Vol. 50, pp 641-712, 1905.
(The theoretical part of the paper only. http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-16-Tafel-1.pdf)
- Beziehungen zwischen Kathodenpotential und elektrolytischer Reduktionswirkung
Julius Tafel and Kurt Naumann, Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie, Stöchiometrie und Verwandtschaftslehre, Vol. 50, pp 713-752, 1905.
(The theoretical part of the paper only. http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-17-Tafel-2.pdf)
The first extension of the “Helmholtz model of the double layer” to metallic electrodes, and the introduction of the concept of the “diffuse layer” by Gouy and Chapman. It was based on the same premises as the Debye-Hückel theory, which it preceded by more than ten years
- Sur la constitution de la charge électrique à la surface d'un électrolyte
Louis Georges Gouy, Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, Paris, Vol. 149, pp 654-657, 1909.
(http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3103r.image.r=Comptes+rendus+hebdomadaires+des+s%C3%A9ances+de+l.f654.langFR)
- Sur la constitution de la charge électrique à la surface d'un électrolyte
Louis Georges Gouy, Journal de Physique Théorique et Appliquée, Ser 4, Vol. 9, pp 457-468, 1910.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-21-Gouy-1.pdf)
- A Contribution to the Theory of Electrocapillarity
David Leonard Chapman, The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Ser. 6, Vol. 25, pp 475-481, 1913.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-25-Chapman.pdf)
The "Debye-Hückel" theory of electrolyte solutions
The discovery of “polarography” by Heyrovský
- Elektrolysa se rtutovou kapkovuo kathodou
Jaroslav Heyrovský, Chemické listy, Vol. 16, pp 256-264, 1922.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-22-Heyrovsky-1.pdf)
- Electrolysis with a Dropping Mercury Catode. Part I. Deposition of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metals
Jaroslav Heyrovský, The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Ser. 6, Vol. 45, pp 303-315, 1923.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-23-Heyrovsky-2.pdf)
The “Butler-Volmer equation” of electrode kinetics
- Studies in Heterogeneous Equilibria. Part II. The Kinetic Interpretation of the Nernst Theory of Electromotive Force
John Alfred Valentine Butler, Transactions of the Faraday Society, Vol. 19, pp 729-733, 1924.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-32-Butler-1.pdf)
- Zur Theorie der Wasserstoffüberspannung
Tibor Erdey-Grúz and Max Volmer, Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie, Abteilung A, Chemische Thermodynamik, Kinetik, Elektrochemie, Eigenschaftslehre, Vol. 150A, pp 203-213, 1930.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-34-Volmer.pdf)
- Zur Frage der Wasserstoffüberspannung
Tibor Erdey-Grúz and H. Wick, Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie, Abteilung A, Chemische Thermodynamik, Kinetik, Elektrochemie, Eigenschaftslehre, Vol. 162A, pp 53-62, 1932.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-35-Erdey.pdf)
- The Mechanism of Overvoltage and its Relation to the Combination of Hydrogen Atoms at Metal Electrodes
John Alfred Valentine Butler, Transactions of the Faraday Society, Vol. 28, pp 379-382, 1932.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-33-Butler-2.pdf)
The “Marcus theory” of electron transfer reactions
- On the Theory of Oxidation-Reduction Reactions Involving Electron Transfer. I
Rudolph Arthur Marcus, Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 24, 966-978, 1956.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-28-Marcus-1.pdf)
- Chemical and Electrochemical Electron-Transfer Theory
Rudolph Arthur Marcus, Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 15, pp 155-196, 1964.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-30-Marcus-3.pdf)
- On the Theory of Oxidation-Reduction Reactions. VI. Unified Treatment for Homogeneous and Electrode Reactions
Rudolph Arthur Marcus, Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 43, 679-701, 1965.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-29-Marcus-2.pdf)
- Electron Transfer at Electrodes and in Solution: Comparison of Theory and Experiment
Rudolph Arthur Marcus, Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 13, pp 995-1004, 1968.
(http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-31-Marcus-4.pdf)
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