[Femto]

Hello,

I am hoping that an electrochemist might be perusing this forum. In regards to reference electrodes, I am having a hard time discerning the difference between the Standard Hydrogen Electrode (SHE), Normal Hydrogen Electrode (NHE), and the Reverse Hydrogen Electrode (RHE). It appears that many textbooks define the SHE and NHE as the same thing although one is more of a theoretical reference (the SHE). With that said, NHE is not a commonly used reference it appears as most references to electrodes are made to the SHE (which takes into account activity and ideal behaviour) while NHE appears to be more reflective of concentration.

It appears that these are all very unique but I am not finding much literature regarding NHE and RHE. From the sources that I have read through, it appears that there should be some potential difference with respect to the three various electrode references.

Is it commonly assumed that measurements made vs. SHE are equivalent to measurements made vs. NHE? How about the RHE? Please provide references if possible.

In case you are curious, I have consulted the following references but I still do not understand:

J. Chem. Educ., 1987, 64 (10), p 885
Inorganica Chimica Acta. 298 (1): 97–102