The Bunsen cell is a zinc-carbon primary cell (colloquially called a "battery") composed of a zinc anode in dilute sulfuric acid separated by a porous pot from a carbon cathode in nitric or chromic acid.

Contents 1 Cell details 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External links

[edit] Cell details

The Bunsen cell voltage is about 1.9 volts and arises from the following reaction:^[1]

Zn + H₂SO₄ + 2HNO₃ → ZnSO₄ + 2 H₂O + 2 NO₂↑

The cell is named after its inventor, German chemist Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, who improved upon the Grove cell by replacing Grove's platinum cathode with carbon in the form of pulverized coal and coke. This battery, like Grove's, also emitted noxious fumes.

Bunsen used this cell to extract metals from their salts by electrolysis, enabling him to isolate metallic magnesium for the first time.

Henri Moissan used a stack of 90 cells for the electrolysis of hydrogen fluoride to obtain the element fluorine for the first time.

[edit] See also

• History of the battery

[edit] References

1. ^ Carhart, Henry Smith (1891). Primary Batteries. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. pp. 179 – 180. http://books.google.com/books?id=6aA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA179&dq=bunsen+cell+reactions#PPA179,M2. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 

[edit] Further reading

• Ayrton, W.E.; T. Mather (1911). Practical Electricity. London: Cassell and Company. pp. 183–185. 
• Peschel, Karl Friedrich (1846). Elements of Physics. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 82. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JqsLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA82&dq=bunsen+cell&lr=&as_brr=1. 
• R. Bunsen (1841). "Ueber eine neue Construction der galvanischen Säule". Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie 38 (3): 311–313. doi:10.1002/jlac.18410380306. 
• R. Bunsen (1841). "Ueber die Anwendung der Kohle zu Volta'schen Batterien". Annalen der Physik und Chemie 130 (11): 417–430. doi:10.1002/andp.18411301109. 

[edit] External links

• Bunsen "Battery"

v • d • e Galvanic cells Non-rechargeable: primary cells Alkaline battery | Aluminium battery | Bunsen cell | Chromic acid cell | Clark cell | Daniell cell | Dry cell | Grove cell | Leclanché cell | Lithium battery | Mercury battery | Nickel oxyhydroxide battery | Silver-oxide battery | Weston cell | Zamboni pile | Zinc-air battery | Zinc-carbon battery Rechargeable: secondary cells Air-fueled lithium-ion battery | Lead-acid battery | Lithium-ion battery | Lithium-ion polymer battery | Lithium iron phosphate battery | Lithium sulfur battery | Lithium-titanate battery | Nickel-cadmium battery | Nickel hydrogen battery | Nickel-iron battery | Nickel-metal hydride battery | Low self-discharge NiMH battery | Nickel-zinc battery | Rechargeable alkaline battery | Sodium-sulfur battery | Vanadium redox battery | Zinc-bromine battery Kinds of cells Battery | Concentration cell | Flow battery | Fuel cell | Trough battery | Voltaic pile Parts of cells Anode | Catalyst | Cathode | Electrolyte | Half cell | Ions | Salt bridge | Semipermeable membrane