Bunsen cell
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.
Cell details
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. Like Grove's battery, Bunsen's 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.
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