3.5 The Helmholtz and Gibbs energies
Key points (a) The Clausius inequality implies a number of criteria for spontaneous change
under a variety of conditions that may be expressed in terms of the properties of the system alone;
they are summarized by introducing the Helmholtz and Gibbs energies. (b) A spontaneous process
at constant temperature and volume is accompanied by a decrease in the Helmholtz energy.
(c) The change in the Helmholtz energy is equal to the maximum work accompanying a process
at constant temperature. (d) A spontaneous process at constant temperature and pressure is
accompanied by a decrease in the Gibbs energy. (e) The change in the Gibbs energy is equal to the
maximum non-expansion work accompanying a process at constant temperature and pressure.
Consider a system in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings at a temperature T.
When a change in the system occurs and there is a transfer of energy as heat between
the system and the surroundings, the Clausius inequality (dS ≥dq/T, eqn 3.12) reads
dS−≥0 (3.27)
We can develop this inequality in two ways according to the conditions (of constant
volume or constant pressure) under which the process occurs.
(a) Criteria for spontaneity
First, consider heating at constant volume. Then, in the absence of non-expansion
work, we can write dqV dU; consequently
dS−≥0 (3.28)
The importance of the inequality in this form is that it expresses the criterion for
spontaneous change solely in terms of the state functions of the system. The inequality
is easily rearranged into
TdS ≥dU (constant V, no additional work)5 (3.29)
At either constant internal energy (dU 0) or constant entropy (dS 0), this expression
becomes, respectively,
dSU,V ≥0 dUS,V ≤0 (3.30)
where the subscripts indicate the constant conditions.
Equation 3.30 expresses the criteria for spontaneous change in terms of properties
relating to the system. The first inequality states that, in a system at constant volume
and constant internal energy (such as an isolated system), the entropy increases in a
spontaneous change. That statement is essentially the content of the Second Law. The
second inequality is less obvious, for it says that, if the entropy and volume of the
system are constant, then the internal energy must decrease in a spontaneous change.
Do not interpret this criterion as a tendency of the system to sink to lower energy. It is
a disguised statement about entropy and should be interpreted as implying that, if
the entropy of the system is unchanged, then there must be an increase in entropy of
the surroundings, which can be achieved only if the energy of the system decreases
as energy flows out as heat.
When energy is transferred as heat at constant pressure, and there is no work other
than expansion work, we can write dqp dH and obtain
TdS ≥dH (constant p, no additional work) (3.31)
At either constant enthalpy or constant entropy this inequality becomes, respectively,
dSH,p ≥0 dHS,p ≤0 (3.32)
The interpretations of these inequalities are similar to those of eqn 3.30. The entropy
of the system at constant pressure must increase if its enthalpy remains constant
(for there can then be no change in entropy of the surroundings). Alternatively, the
enthalpy must decrease if the entropy of the system is constant, for then it is essential
to have an increase in entropy of the surroundings.
Because eqns 3.29 and 3.31 have the forms dU −TdS ≤0 and dH −TdS ≤0, respectively,
they can be expressed more simply by introducing two more thermodynamic
quantities. One is the Helmholtz energy, A, which is defined as
A U −TS [3.33]
The other is the Gibbs energy, G:
G H −TS [3.34]
All the symbols in these two definitions refer to the system.
When the state of the system changes at constant temperature, the two properties
change as follows:
(a) dA dU −TdS (b) dG dH −TdS (3.35)
When we introduce eqns 3.29 and 3.31, respectively, we obtain the criteria of spontaneous
change as
(a) dAT,V ≤0 (b) dGT, p ≤0 (3.36)
These inequalities are the most important conclusions from thermodynamics for
chemistry. They are developed in subsequent sections and chapters.
(b) Some remarks on the Helmholtz energy
A change in a system at constant temperature and volume is spontaneous if dAT,V ≤0.
That is, a change under these conditions is spontaneous if it corresponds to a decrease
in the Helmholtz energy. Such systems move spontaneously towards states of lower A
if a path is available. The criterion of equilibrium, when neither the forward nor
reverse process has a tendency to occur, is
Definition of
Gibbs energy
Definition of
Helmholtz energy
dAT,V 0 (3.37)
The expressions dA dU −TdS and dA 0 are sometimes interpreted as follows. A
negative value of dA is favoured by a negative value of dU and a positive value of TdS.
This observation suggests that the tendency of a system to move to lower A is due to
its tendency to move towards states of lower internal energy and higher entropy.
However, this interpretation is false (even though it is a good rule of thumb for
remembering the expression for dA) because the tendency to lower A is solely a tendency
towards states of greater overall entropy. Systems change spontaneously if in
doing so the total entropy of the system and its surroundings increases, not because
they tend to lower internal energy. The form of dA may give the impression that
systems favour lower energy, but that is misleading: dS is the entropy change of
the system, −dU/T is the entropy change of the surroundings (when the volume of the
system is constant), and their total tends to a maximum.
(c) Maximum work
It turns out, as we show in the following Justification, that A carries a greater significance
than being simply a signpost of spontaneous change: the change in the Helmholtz
function is equal to the maximum work accompanying a process at constant temperature:
dwmax dA (3.38)
As a result, A is sometimes called the ‘maximum work function’, or the ‘work
function’.6
Justification 3.2 Maximum work
To demonstrate that maximum work can be expressed in terms of the changes
in Helmholtz energy, we combine the Clausius inequality dS ≥dq/T in the form
TdS ≥dq with the First Law, dU dq dw, and obtain
dU ≤TdS dw
(dU is smaller than the term of the right because we are replacing dq by TdS, which
in general is larger.) This expression rearranges to
dw ≥dU −TdS
It follows that the most negative value of dw, and therefore the maximum energy
that can be obtained from the system as work, is given by
dwmax dU −TdS
and that this work is done only when the path is traversed reversibly (because then
the equality applies). Because at constant temperature dA dU −TdS, we conclude
that dwmax dA.
When a macroscopic isothermal change takes place in the system, eqn 3.38 becomes
wmax A (3.39)
with
A U −TS (3.40)
Relation between A
and maximum work
This expression shows that in some cases, depending on the sign of TS, not all the
change in internal energy may be available for doing work. If the change occurs with
a decrease in entropy (of the system), in which case TS 0, then the right-hand side
of this equation is not as negative as U itself, and consequently the maximum work
is less than U. For the change to be spontaneous, some of the energy must escape
as heat in order to generate enough entropy in the surroundings to overcome the
reduction in entropy in the system (Fig. 3.16). In this case, Nature is demanding a tax
on the internal energy as it is converted into work. This is the origin of the alternative
name ‘Helmholtz free energy’ for A, because A is that part of the change in internal
energy that we are free to use to do work.
Further insight into the relation between the work that a system can do and the
Helmholtz energy is to recall that work is energy transferred to the surroundings as
the uniform motion of atoms. We can interpret the expression A U −TS as showing
that A is the total internal energy of the system, U, less a contribution that is stored
as energy of thermal motion (the quantity TS). Because energy stored in random
thermal motion cannot be used to achieve uniform motion in the surroundings, only
the part of U that is not stored in that way, the quantity U −TS, is available for conversion
into work.
If the change occurs with an increase of entropy of the system (in which case
TS 0), the right-hand side of the equation is more negative than U. In this case,
the maximum work that can be obtained from the system is greater than U. The
explanation of this apparent paradox is that the system is not isolated and energy may
flow in as heat as work is done. Because the entropy of the system increases, we can
afford a reduction of the entropy of the surroundings yet still have, overall, a spontaneous
process. Therefore, some energy (no more than the value of TS) may leave the
surroundings as heat and contribute to the work the change is generating (Fig. 3.17).
Nature is now providing a tax refund.
Fig. 3.16 In a system not isolated from its
surroundings, the work done may be
different from the change in internal
energy. Moreover, the process is
spontaneous if overall the entropy of
the system and its surroundings increases.
In the process depicted here, the entropy
of the system decreases, so that of the
surroundings must increase in order for the
process to be spontaneous, which means
that energy must pass from the system to
the surroundings as heat. Therefore, less
work than U can be obtained.
Fig. 3.17 In this process, the entropy of the
system increases; hence we can afford to
lose some entropy of the surroundings.
That is, some of their energy may be lost as
heat to the system. This energy can be
returned to them as work. Hence the work
done can exceed U.
Example 3.4 Calculating the maximum av