What are concentration cells?

1 Answer
zhirou
May 23, 2018

A type of galvanic cell where the two half-cells are identical except for in concentration.

Explanation:

This is a concentration cell:

SparkNotes

As we can see, the two half-cells are completely identical—the two electrodes are both made of solid Cu, and the solutions both contain CuSO_4.

The only thing that's different in these half-cells is concentration of the CuSO_4—in one half cell, its concentration is 0.01M, and in the other, its concentration is 1M.

This will cause electrons to migrate in the direction that results in the increase in concentration of the 0.01M CuSO_4 cell and the decrease in concentration of the 1M cell.

So, in our case, electrons will flow from left to right.
In the left half-cell, this causes Cu(s) to become Cu^(2+), increasing its concentration.
In the right half-cell, Cu^(2+) ions reduce to become Cu(s), decreasing its concentration.

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