overpotential

American  

[oh-ver-puh-ten-shuhl] / ˈoʊ vər pəˌtɛn ʃəl /

noun

Electricity.

1. overvoltage.

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Etymology

Origin of overpotential

First recorded in 1915–20; over- + potential

Example Sentences

A challenge for catalysis researchers is to combine the best of the biological and industrial approaches to nitrogen fixation — that is, to find a process that operates near ambient temperature and pressure, has minimal chemical overpotential, and does not require a capital-intensive plant to make ammonia on a large scale.

From Nature

Forming N–H bonds with molybdenum nitrido complexes poses a considerable thermodynamic challenge, because N–H bonds are also weakened when bound to molybdenum, as noted by our group10; this effect is a source of chemical overpotential.

From Nature

This use of excess hydrogen equivalents means that nitrogenases operate with a large chemical overpotential — they use much more energy than is actually needed to drive fixation7.

From Nature

The method reported has considerable operational challenges that currently make it impractical for synthesizing ammonia: SmI2 is used in large quantities, which generates a lot of waste; separating ammonia from aqueous solutions is energetically costly; and a chemical overpotential of about 140 kcal mol–1 remains.

From Nature

A nanostructured cathode architecture for low charge overpotential in lithium–oxygen batteries.

From Nature