A New Experimental Technique for the Study of Films Produced at Electrochemical Interfaces

Abstract

A new experimental technique for the study of the corrosion films at electrochemical interfaces has been developed. It consists of applying a square wave current superimposed on a constant d‐c current. The a‐c current charges and discharges the double layer capacity at a high frequency. From the voltage transients produced by this current, as observed with an oscilloscope, the nature of the electrode interface can be studied. The instrumentation is described in detail, and experimental results for corrosion films on lead are presented. Capacities were measured with a precision of better than 3% and voltages to 1 mv during transients lasting only a few seconds.