Electrochemistry in nonaqueous solutions

Аннотация

A majority of chemical reactions are carried out in solution. The use of a solvent as reaction medium makes it easy to control reaction conditions such as temperature, pressure, pH, rate of mass transfer, and concentration of reactant. Water is the most popular solvent. However, by using appropriate non-aqueous solvents, substances that are insoluble in water can be dissolved, substances that are unstable in water remain stable, and chemical reactions that are impossible in water become possible. The reaction environments are markedly wider in non-aqueous solvents than in water. Most chemists are familiar with chemistry in aqueous solutions. However, the common sense in aqueous solutions is not always valid in non-aqueous solutions. This is also true for electrochemical measurements. Thus, in this book, special emphasis is placed on showing which aspects of chemistry in non-aqueous solutions are different from chemistry in aqueous solutions. Emphasis is also placed on showing the differences between electrochemical measurements in non-aqueous systems and those in aqueous systems. The importance of electrochemistry in non-aqueous solutions is now widely recognized by non-electrochemical scientists – for example, organic and inorganic chemists often use cyclic voltammetry in aprotic solvents in order to determine redox properties, electronic states, and reactivities of electroactive species, including unstable intermediates. This book will therefore also be of use to such non-electrochemical scientists.