Thermodynamic issues associated with combined cyclic voltammetry and wafer curvature measurements in electrolytes

Abstract

A thermodynamic framework has been provided for the interpretation of combined cyclic voltammetry and surface stress measurements, the latter being obtained from wafer curvature or beam deflection measurements of a solid electrode as a function of applied potential (so-called voltstressograms). Firstly, the derivation of electrocapillarity equations for solid electrodes has been critically reviewed by starting from the Gibbs adsorption equation appropriate for solid–electrolyte interfaces. This allowed us to demonstrate the critical importance of elastic surface strain in the thermodynamic boundary conditions of the partial derivatives intervening in the interpretation of voltstressograms. From these considerations, it was shown for the first time that the electrocapillarity equations for solid electrodes are not appropriate for describing the variation of surface stress with potential obtained from wafer curvature measurements, because such measurements are intrinsically incompatible with the constant strain condition implied in the electrocapillarity equations. An alternative explanation is provided for the experimentally observed proportionality between the current density, measured in cyclic voltammograms, and the first derivative of surface stress with respect to potential, obtained from voltstressograms.