Electrochemistry
. Electrochemistry, that part of the science of chemistry that deals with the interrelationship of electrical currents, or voltages, and chemical reactions, and with the mutual conversion of chemical and electrical energy. In the broadest sense, electrochemistry is the study of chemical reactions that produce electrical effects and of the chemical phenomena that are caused by the action of currents or voltages. ELECTRIC CURRENT AND ION MOVEMENT Most inorganic and some organic chemical compounds, when in a molten state or when dissolved in water or other liquids, become ionized; that is, their molecules become dissociated into positively and negatively charged components, which have the property of conducting an electric current (see Ion ; Ionization ). If a pair of electrodes is placed in a solution of an electrolyte, or an ionizable compound, and a source of direct current is connected between them, the positive ions in the solution move toward the negative electrode and the negative