Key Terms

The following is a set of key terms that are important when discussing voltammetry. You should aim to have a clear sense of each term’s meaning, both so that you can read material with full understanding and so that you can speak about voltammetry with confidence; for this reason you may wish to add your own definitions of these key terms to this file.

anode

anodic current

auxillary electrode

cathode

cathodic current

charging current

convection

counter electrode

cyclic voltammetry

diffusion

In electrochemistry, the diffusion layer, according to IUPAC, is defined as the “region in the vicinity of an electrode where the concentrations are different from their value in the bulk solution. The definition of the thickness of the diffusion layer is arbitrary because the concentration approaches asymptotically the value in the bulk solution”. Wikipedia

diffusion layer

electrical double layer

electrochemically reversible/irreversible

faradaic current

indicator electrode

limiting current

mass transport

migration

non-faradaic current

residual current

voltammetry