The Voltammetric Analysis of Selenium Electrodeposition from H2SeO3 Solution on Gold Electrode

Abstract

Abstract The different voltammetry techniques were applied to understand the process of selenium deposition from sulfate solution on gold polycrystalline electrode. By applying the cycling voltammetry with different scan limits as well as the chronoamper-ometry combined with the cathodic and anodic linear stripping voltammetry, the different stages of the deposition of selenium were revealed. It was found that the process of reduction of selenous acid on gold surface exhibits a multistage character. The cyclic voltammetry results showed four cathodic peaks which are related to the surface limited phenomena and which coincide with the bulk deposition process. The fifth cathodic peak is related to the reduction of bulk deposited Se0 to Se-2 ions. Furthermore, the connection of anodic peaks with cathodic ones confirmed the surface limited process of selenium deposition, bulk deposition and reduction to Se-2. Additionally, the cathodic linear stripping voltammetry confirms the process of H2SeO3 adsorption on gold surface. The experiments confirmed that classical voltammetry technique proved to be a very powerful tool for analyzing the electrochemical processes related with interfacial phenomena and electrodeposition.