CELL VOLTAGE

"The electrical potential difference between the two electrodes of an electrochemical cell. In case of a three-electrode cell, the potential difference between the working electrode and the counter electrode. ""Cell voltage"" usually refers to nonequilibrium conditions, that is when current is flowing through the cell (although this convention is not always followed). The ""cell voltage"" differs from the electromotive force (emf) (or open-circuit voltage (ocv)) of the cell by the amount of the overvoltage. The term ""voltage"" is usually reserved for the case when an electrochemical cell is under consideration, while the term ""potential"" is usually reserved for the case when an electrode is considered. (Of course, the latter case is still an ""electrochemical cell"" consisting of the electrode under consideration and a reference electrode.) Unfortunately, the terms ""voltage"" and ""potential"" are sometimes used interchangeably. "