An electrochemical measuring technique used for electrochemical analysis or
for the determination of the kinetics and mechanism of electrode reactions. A
fast-rising current pulse is enforced on the working electrode of an
electrochemical cell and the potential of this electrode is measured against a
reference electrode as a function of time. In an unstirred solution, the potential will rise to the electrode potential
of the reaction requiring the least amount of energy to proceed, and it will
increase in time due to the concentration overpotential developing as the
concentration of the reactant is exhausted at the electrode surface. If the
current is larger than the limiting current, eventually the diffusional process
will not be able to provide the required flux for the current, and the electrode
potential will sharply rise (at the transition time) until it reaches the
electrode potential of the next available reaction in the solution, and so on.
The term "chronopotentiometry" was found in the following pages: