Fuel cells, batteries, and the development of electrochemistry

Vladimir S. Bagotsky shared his views on the role of fuel cells and batteries in the development of electrochemistry. A considerable improvement of electrical batteries was achieved after the replacement of liquid oxidizers by solid oxidizers. G. L. Leclanché, the French engineer made a battery containing manganese dioxide as oxidizer in 1865, along with zinc as a reductant and an aqueous solution of ammonium chloride as electrolyte. This liquid electrolyte was replaced by an electrolyte solidified by different gelling agents. The development of a variety of batteries taking place in the second half of the nineteenth century led to basic work in electrochemical thermodynamics. Herman von Helmholtz and William Thomson established a connection between the OCV of batteries and the thermal effect of the chemical reaction proceeding during discharge between 1847-1851.