The dynamics of electrolytic hydrogen bubble evolution

Abstract The apparent analogy between nucleate boiling and electrolytic gas bubble evolution has prompted a study of the latter in an attempt to clarify the similarity between the limiting rate processes in the two. For the case of electrolytic evolution of hydrogen bubbles from a platinum electrode in sulfuric acid, measurements of simultaneous instantaneous bubble growth rates and electrode currents under limiting current conditions are shown to be consistent with the combination of atomic to molecular hydrogen on the surface as the rate limiting step. As there is no analogous mechanism in nucleate boiling, it is concluded that extreme caution should be exercised in postulating a general analogy between the two phenomena.