The transfer of electrons during the ETS creates potential energy that pumps protons across a membrane (outside the cytoplasmic membrane for prokaryotes and into the intermembrane space for eukaryotes), leading to one side of the membrane being more positively charged (more protons) than the other and thus establishing an electrochemical gradient  known as the proton motive force. This force is used to drive ATP production and other energetically unfavorable processes.

Proton Motive Force

A membrane-bound enzyme complex that acts as a channel for chemiosmosis, with the movement of protons down their gradients promoting the turning of the complex's components which generates ATP via oxidative phosphorylation 

ATP Synthase

A feature that drives the passing of electrons along the ETS. Electrons move from the electron donor with more negative redox potential to an electron acceptor with more positive potential, with carriers in the ETS only able to accept electrons given a more positive redox potential.

Redox potential

Features of oxidative phosphorylation include:

- Redox potential
- Proton motive force
- ATP synthase

University of Notre Dame

A method for producing ATP in which an inorganic phosphate group is added to ADP using the energy from an electrochemical gradient. The process in cellular respiration in which most ATP are generated

Oxidative Phosphorylation

The electron movement within the ETC generates an electrochemical gradient (proton motive force) whose potential energy drives the flow of protons across the membrane through ATP synthase, making ATP. This diffusion of protons across the membrane (into the cytoplasm for prokaryotes and out of the intermembrane space for eukaryotes) also known as chemiosmosis. 

(Photo credits in References)

Chemiosmosis

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Oxidative Phosphorylation consists of two main parts:

- Electron Transport Chain
- Chemiosmosis

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