Microelectrodes and Fast Scan Voltammetry

The spherical diffusion-limiting current can be compared to the peak current in CV to obtain a lower limit of usehil scan rates for studies in the linear diffusion regime. For a one-electron transfere we have  

The upper and lower scan rate bounds for an electrode of a given diameter for use in the linear diffusion regime are listed in Table 2-3, based on a 1 or 5% current contribution from spherical diffusion, and a 0.005 or 0.02 VIR drop. 

As a consequence of the short time involved in gast scan experiments, total electrolysis is much smaller at microelectrodes, and fouling of electrodes by electrolysis products is minimized. 

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