Actual activation energy of electrochemical reactions at stage charge transfer

Abstract

Relationships between the actual (i.e., determined on the basis of experimental data on the dependence of the overall current on the temperature) and true activation energies of the stages are found and analyzed for the process of stage charge transfer. It is shown that in the case of a significant deviation from equilibrium and in the absence of diffusion rate limitations, the actual real activation energy is the weighted arithmetic mean of the A ₁ and (A ₂ + F _η) values (where A ₁ and A ₂ are the true real activation energies of the corresponding charge transfer stages, η is the polarization). If a pronounced limiting stage is present, the actual activation energy is determined by the value of the true activation energy of the limiting stage.