Electrode, depolarized nonpolarizable

An -> ideal nonpolarizable electrode is one whose potential does not change as current flows in the cell. Much more useful in electrochemistry are the electrodes that change their potential in a wide potential window (in the absence of a - depolarizer) without the passage of significant current. They are called -> ideally polarized electrodes. Current-potential curves, particularly those obtained under steady-state conditions (see -> Tafel plot) are often called polarization curves. In the -> corrosion measurements the ratio of AE/AI in the polarization curve is called the polarization resistance. If during the -> electrode processes the overpotential is related to the -> diffusional transport of the depolarizer we talk about the concentration polarization. If the electrode process requires an -> activation energy, the appropriate overpotential and activation polarization appear. 

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