Cyclic voltammetry
Cyclic voltammetry (CV) is a potentiodynamic electrochemical technique that measures the current response of an analyte in solution as the potential of a working electrode is linearly ramped forward and backward in a triangular waveform, enabling the study of oxidation and reduction processes at the electrode surface.[1] Developed in 1958 by Wiesław Kemula and Zbigniew Kublik, CV has become a cornerstone method in electrochemistry for its ability to provide rapid qualitative and quantitative information on redox reactions, electron transfer kinetics, and reaction mechanisms.[1] The technique operates using a three-electrode system consisting of a working electrode (typically platinum, glassy carbon, or gold), a reference electrode (such as Ag/AgCl or saturated calomel), and a counter electrode, all immersed in an electrolyte solution containing the analyte and a supporting electrolyte to minimize ohmic drop.[2] A potentiostat applies the potential sweep at a controlled scan rate (commonly 10–1000 mV/s) and records the resulting current, which arises primarily from faradaic processes involving electron transfer and is influenced by diffusion-controlled mass transport in unstirred solutions.[2] The characteristic voltammogram displays anodic and cathodic peaks, whose positions (peak potentials, Epa and Epc) and heights (peak currents, ipa and ipc) allow determination of formal reduction potentials, reversibility (e.g., ΔEp ≈ 59 mV for reversible systems at 25°C), diffusion coefficients via the Randles-Ševčík equation (ip = (2.69 × 105) n3/2 A D1/2 v1/2 C, where n is the number of electrons, A is electrode area, D is diffusion coefficient, v is scan rate, and C is bulk concentration), and even detection limits down to micromolar levels.[1][3] CV's versatility extends to diverse applications, including characterizing electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells, probing adsorption and desorption on electrode surfaces, analyzing corrosion mechanisms, and developing biosensors for detecting biomolecules like glucose or DNA.[1] In materials science and energy research, it evaluates the redox properties of nanomaterials, polymers, and transition metal complexes, aiding advancements in batteries, supercapacitors, and solar cells by quantifying charge transfer rates and stability under cycling conditions.[3] Despite its simplicity, careful control of experimental parameters—such as solvent purity, electrode cleaning, and scan rate—is essential to avoid artifacts like capacitive currents or irreversible peaks, ensuring reliable interpretation of electrochemical behavior.[2]Principles and Theory
Basic Mechanism
Cyclic voltammetry is an electroanalytical technique that employs a linear potential sweep, where the potential applied to the working electrode is ramped linearly with respect to time from an initial value to a vertex potential, then reversed and swept back to the starting potential, generating a characteristic triangular waveform.[3] This method allows for the study of redox processes by monitoring the current response as the potential varies. The faradaic current in cyclic voltammetry originates from electron transfer reactions occurring at the electrode-solution interface, where electroactive species undergo oxidation or reduction, leading to a measurable flow of electrons between the electrode and the analyte. These redox events produce peaks in the current-potential plot known as a voltammogram; during the forward scan, a cathodic peak appears for reduction or an anodic peak for oxidation, while the reverse scan reveals the complementary peak, reflecting the back-reaction of the product formed in the initial sweep.[3] The scan rate, denoted as v (in V/s), dictates the temporal scale of the potential excursion and directly affects the current magnitude, as faster scans compress the diffusion layer and enhance the flux of electroactive species to the electrode surface, resulting in proportionally larger peak currents.[3] In addition to faradaic contributions, non-faradaic charging of the electrical double layer at the interface generates a background capacitive current, expressed asi_c = C \frac{dE}{dt},
where C is the double-layer capacitance and \frac{dE}{dt} is the rate of potential change, which scales linearly with the scan rate and can obscure faradaic signals at high speeds.[4]