ABSTRACT
In Chapter 1, our presentation of electrochemical concepts was focused mainly on an analytical/ kineticpointofview,namely,onthespecišcaspectsrelatedtotheelectrodeandtothesolutioninits closevicinity.Indeed,assoonaskineticsisconsidered,thebulksolutionmayoftenberegardedas a concentration buffer whose only role is to maintain constant or known reactant concentrationsatthe externaldiffusionlayerboundary.Obviously,thisisnotthecasewhenpreparative electrochemistry is considered. Indeed, the goal is then to change the solution composition. Yet this composition changeiseffectedthroughtherelayofthediffusionlayer,which“transmits”themodišcations achievedattheelectrodetothebulksolution.Sincechemicalreactionsmaytakeplacewithinthe diffusionlayer,asdiscussedinChapter1,thewaythebulksolutionisaffecteddependslargelyon themicrophenomenaoccurringinthethinsolutionlayer(5-20 µm,usually)adjacenttotheelectrode [1]. This results in an extensive coupling between micro-and macrophenomena at electrodes, whichisoneofthereasonswhykinetics,thestudyofmicroelectrolysisphenomena,issodeveloped in electrochemistry.
