Effects of the Polarization Resistance on Cyclic Voltammograms for an Electrochemical-Chemical Reaction

Here I report an electrochemical simulation work that compares voltammetric current and resistance of a complex electrochemical reaction over a potential scan. For this work, the finite element method is employed which are frequently used for voltammetry but rarely for impedance spectroscopy. Specifically, this method is used for simulation of a complex reaction where a heterogeneous faradaic reaction is followed by a homogeneous chemical reaction. By tracing the current and its polarization resistance, I learn that their relationship can be explained in terms of rate constants of charge transfer and chemical change. An unexpected observation is that even though the resistance is increased by the rate of the following chemical reaction, the current can be increased due to the potential shift of the resistance made by the proceeding faradaic reaction. This report envisions a possibility of the FEM-based resistance simulation to be applied to understand a complex electrochemical reaction. Until now, resistance simulations are mostly based on equivalent circuits or complete mathematical equations and have limitations to find proper models. However, this method is based on the first-principles, and is expected to be complementary to the other simulation methods.