Cyclic Voltammetry—“Electrochemical Spectroscopy”. New Analytical Methods (25)

Polarography is still the best known classical measuring method in electroanalytical chemistry. However, in recent years its position has been challenged by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Simple diagnostic criteria and relatively easily acquired measuring techniques have hastened this development. Cyclic voltammetry has the further attraction of providing information not only on the thermodynamics of redox processes but also on the kinetics of heterogeneous electron-transfer reactions and coupled chemical reactions. The characteristic shapes of the voltammetric waves and their unequivocal position on the potential scale virtually fingerprint the individual electrochemical properties of redox systems. For this reason the method has been labeled “electrochemical spectroscopy”.