Lecture 1: Basic Physics of Galvanic Cells: I. Equivalent Circuit Models

I.
Equivalent Circuit Models

Lecture 1: Basic Physics of Galvanic Cells
Notes by MIT Student (and MZB)
In this lecture, we give an overview of electrochemical cell operations, and define basic
terminologies frequently used in a discussion of electrochemical cell operations.
1. Electrochemical Cells and Their Operations

Faradaic Reaction : An electrochemical reaction that involves charge transfer
Electrochemical Cell : Two half reactions involving charge transfer, connected via an
electrolyte (conducting ions) and an external circuit (conducting electrons)
Figure 1. Galvanic Operation of an Electrochemical Cell
In a galvanic cell, electrons and ions flow spontaneously, converting chemical energy into
electrical energy (and heat). As shown in Figure 1, in galvanic cell operation, an oxidation
reaction occurs at anode, producing electrons. On the other hand, at cathode, a reduction reaction
occurs, consuming electrons on the electrode surface. Since the electrons are not able to move
through the electrolyte, they flow via external circuits from anode to cathode, making a current
in a direction from cathode to anode. In electrolyte phase, oxidized species migrates from anode
to cathode, and reduced species migrates from cathode to anode in net amount, respectively. In
1
Lecture 1: Basic physics of Galvanic cells 10.626 (2011) Bazant

an electrolytic cell, charges flow in the opposite direction, driven by an external voltage which
inputs electrical energy to be stored as chemical energy. The sign convention of current is
defined to have a positive sign for galvanic cells. Therefore, in an electrolytic cell operation, a
current has a negative value.
The followings are two examples of electrochemical cell construction:
Example 1: PEM fuel cell
Anode 𝐻! 𝑔 → 2𝐻! + 2𝑒 !
!
Cathode 𝑂! 𝑔 + 2𝐻! + 2𝑒 ! → 𝐻! 𝑂 𝑙
!
!
Net Reaction 𝐻! 𝑔 + 𝑂! 𝑔 → 𝐻! 𝑂 𝑙
!
Electrolyte polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM)
Example 2: Li-ion battery
Anode 𝐿𝑖𝐶! → 𝐿𝑖 ! + 𝑒 ! + 𝐶!
Cathode 𝐿𝑖 ! + 𝑒 ! + 𝐶𝑜𝑂! → 𝐿𝑖𝐶𝑜𝑂!
Net Reaction 𝐿𝑖 𝐶! + 𝐶𝑜𝑂! → 𝐿𝑖𝐶𝑜𝑂! + 𝐶! (“rocking chair battery”)
Electrolyte organic liquid containing LiPF6 salt dissolved
2

2. Equivalent Circuit
It is possible to represent an electrochemical cell using an equivalent circuit model. We will
learn how to model physical components of an electrochemical cell with circuit element
representations later on in this course. For now, we focus on operation behaviors of circuits,
given an equivalent circuit model of an electrochemical cell.
A galvanic cell can be represented by an equivalent circuit as following:
Figure 2. An Equivalent Circuit Model of a Galvanic Cell
where 𝑉!! : Standard Equilibrium Half-cell Potential of Anode

𝑉!! : Standard Equilibrium Half-cell Potential of Cathode
𝑅! : Interface Resistance at Anode
𝑅! : Interface Resistance at Cathode
𝑅!" : Resistance through Electrolyte
𝑅!"# : External Circuit Resistance
Equivalently, the above equivalent circuit may be simplified by lumping circuit elements into
fewer representative elements.
3

Figure 3. Lumped Equivalent Circuit Model of a Galvanic Cell
Where 𝑉! = 𝑉!! − 𝑉!! : Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) of a Cell

𝑅!"# = 𝑅! + 𝑅!" + 𝑅! : Internal Resistance
Note that standard equilibrium half-cell potentials (𝑉!! , and 𝑉!! ) are sometimes denoted 𝐸 ! in
electrochemistry, but that notation is refrained since it may be confusing with an electric field.
The standard equilibrium half-cell potentials may be either positive or negative, as long as 𝑉! ,
open circuit voltage, is positive (for a galvanic cell).
According to the Kirchhoff’s law,

V = IRext = Vo I−Rint (1)
where V is the cell voltage. The cell voltage is a function of current, I, state of charge, Q, which
will be defined in Lecture 3, and other electrochemical variables. The cell voltage, in
thermodynamic terms, means the free energy difference of net cell reaction per charge
transferred. The thermodynamic interpretation of cell voltage will be discussed in Lecture 7.
ΔG [ free energy difference of net reaction ]

V ( I, Q, …) = = (2)
ne [chargetransferred ]
When the external resistance is zero, we obtain short circuit current:
Vo
Is = (3)
Rint
Given a current and a cell voltage, we can calculate a cell power, P, which is electrical work
done by cell per unit time.
P = IV (4)
4

Assuming a constant internal resistance, the dependence of cell voltage and cell power to the
current can be plotted as following:
Electrolytic Galvanic Super Galvanic

Regime Regime Regime
P<0 P>0 P<0
I<0 I>0 I > IS
V > Vo 0 < V < Vo V<0
Electrical Energy Chemical Energy Chemical + Electrical Energy
 Chemical Energy Storage  Electrical Energy + Heat Loss  Heat Loss
e.g. charging a Li-ion battery e.g. discharging a battery e.g. forcing the battery to
by applying a reverse through an external load discharge faster than IS by
voltage applying a voltage externally
Figure 4. Cell Voltage and Power Behavior as a Function of Current

Table 1. Different Regimes of Cell Operation and Features
5

More realistic fuel cells do not have constant internal resistance. Rather, they have nonlinear
contributions from several overpotential components. Overpotential refers to the magnitude of
potential drop caused by resistance to the passage of current. We will learn their behaviors and
interpretations through this course.
Cell voltages of typical fuel cells show the following dependence on current. With a small
current, activation overpotential dominates and gives the concave curve in the beginning.
Following that, the resistance from either electron or ion transport becomes the limiting factor,
giving the linear curve in the middle. Lastly, when current is large enough, transport of fuel
cannot sustain the current, and the cell voltage drops quickly.
Figure 5. Cell Voltage of Typical Fuel Cells as a Function of Current
6
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10.626 Electrochemical Energy Systems

Spring 2014
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I.

Equivalent Circuit Models

Notes by MIT Student (and MZB)

1. Electrochemical Cells and Their Operations

Figure 1. Galvanic Operation of an Electrochemical Cell

The followings are two examples of electrochemical cell construction:

Example 1: PEM fuel cell

Electrolyte polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM)

Example 2: Li-ion battery

Anode 𝐿𝑖𝐶! → 𝐿𝑖 ! + 𝑒 ! + 𝐶!

Cathode 𝐿𝑖 ! + 𝑒 ! + 𝐶𝑜𝑂! → 𝐿𝑖𝐶𝑜𝑂!

Net Reaction 𝐿𝑖 𝐶! + 𝐶𝑜𝑂! → 𝐿𝑖𝐶𝑜𝑂! + 𝐶! (“rocking chair battery”)

Electrolyte organic liquid containing LiPF6 salt dissolved

A galvanic cell can be represented by an equivalent circuit as following:

Figure 2. An Equivalent Circuit Model of a Galvanic Cell

where 𝑉!! : Standard Equilibrium Half-cell Potential of Anode

Figure 3. Lumped Equivalent Circuit Model of a Galvanic Cell

Where 𝑉! = 𝑉!! − 𝑉!! : Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) of a Cell

According to the Kirchhoff’s law,

ΔG [ free energy difference of net reaction ]

Electrolytic Galvanic Super Galvanic

Figure 4. Cell Voltage and Power Behavior as a Function of Current

Figure 5. Cell Voltage of Typical Fuel Cells as a Function of Current

10.626 Electrochemical Energy Systems

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