Electrochemical contributions: John Alfred Valentine Butler (1899–1977)

Abstract

John Alfred Valentine Butler was the first to connect the kinetic electrochemistry built up in the second half of the twentieth century with the thermodynamic electrochemistry that dominated the first half. John Alfred Valentine Butler had, to his credit, not only the first exponential relation between current and potential (1924) but also (along with R.W. Gurney) the introduction of energy-level thinking into electrochemistry (1951).

However, Butler was not alone in this study and therefore it is necessary to give credit also to Max Volmer, a great German surface chemist, and his student (at that time) Erdey-Gruz. Butler's very early contribution in 1924 and the Erdey-Gruz and Volmer contribution in 1930 form the basis of phenomenological kinetic electrochemistry. The resulting famous Butler-Volmer equation is very important in electrochemistry.

The author declares no conflict of interest.