Two Types of Potential Oscillation During the Reduction of Dichromate on Gold Electrode in H2SO4 Solution

Two different types of potential oscillations have been identified for the first time during dichromate reduction on a gold electrode in a solution of dilute sulfuric acid. One occurs before hydrogen evolution due to the formation and dissolution of passivating films of low-valence chromium oxides, and the other generates,accompanying periodic hydrogen evolution, from the coupling of electrochemical reactions with diffusive and convective mass transport. More interestingly, these two types of oscillations correspond to two crossing loops in the cyclic voltammogram (CV). Such a relation of oscillations with crossed CVs will provide a new way to find electrochemical oscillatory systems systematically and rapidly.