Answer to Question #16036 in Inorganic Chemistry for umer hussain

Question

REDOX POTENTIAL AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

Answer 1

Reduction potential is a measure of the tendency of a chemical species to
acquire electrons and thereby be reduced. Reduction potential is measured in
volts (V), or millivolts (mV). Each species has its own intrinsic reduction
potential; the more positive the potential, the greater the species' affinity
for electrons and tendency to be reduced.

Many enzymatic reactions are
oxidation-reduction reactions in which one compound is oxidized and another
compound is reduced. The ability of an organism to carry out oxidation-reduction
reactions depends on the oxidation-reduction state of the environment, or its
reduction potential

Eh-pH (Pourbaix) diagrams are commonly used in mining
and geology for assessment of the stability fields of minerals and dissolved
species. Under conditions where a mineral (solid) phase is the most stable form
of an element, these diagrams show that mineral. As with results from all
thermodynamic (equilibrium) evaluations, these diagrams should be used with
caution. Although the formation of a mineral or its dissolution may be predicted
to occur under a set of conditions, the process may be negligible because its
rate is so slow. Under those circumstances, kinetic evaluations are necessary.
However, the equilibrium conditions can be used to evaluate the direction of
spontaneous changes and the magnitude of the driving force behind them.