The Elimination of Errors due to Electrode Polarization in Measurements of the Dielectric Constants of Electrolytes

Abstract

An investigation was made of the errors resulting from electrode polarization in measurements of the dielectric constants of solutions containing electrolytes. The applicability of two methods, one used by Fricke and Curtis and the other by Oncley, to eliminate these errors, was considered. There is introduced a modification of Oncley's method, which was found applicable at higher electrolyte concentrations than Oncley's method. The relative effectiveness of the modified method and that of Fricke and Curtis was tested by employing the two methods to correct experimental data obtained for aqueous solutions of glycine containing various amounts of electrolytes. The measurements were made at frequencies ranging from 10 to 5000 kc, and at conductivities ranging from 0.29×10⁻⁴ to 1.74×10⁻⁴ ohm⁻¹ cm⁻¹. The corrected values of the dielectric constant were compared with known values in the literature and found to be in good agreement. The limitations of the methods are considered and the usefulness of the methods in cases where the dielectric constant varies with frequency is discussed.