If you guessed that electrochemistry has to do with electricity and chemistry, you’re right! But you might wonder how they work together. Back in 1800, William Nicholson and Johann Ritter were the first ones to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis. (Soon afterwards, Ritter went on to figure out electroplating.) They added energy in the form of an electric current into a cup of water and captured the bubbles forming into two separate cups, one for hydrogen and other for oxygen.
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The chemical reaction inside electrochemical cells is also a redox reaction. Batteries (also known as galvanic or voltaic cells) use a spontaneous chemical reaction inside to create energy. The acid inside the battery reacts with the metal electrodes (the plus and minus ends of the battery) to provide electricity (energy).
Most metals oxidize – the corrosion itself is the oxidative deterioration. You can protect metals from corrosion (but not completely) by inhibiting the oxidant (when you paint the surface or even allow a thin layer of oxide to form then seal it to protect it. You can also make a coating layer that isn’t affected by water or oxygen and use that to coat the metal surface (like coating iron with sodium chromate).
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