coulostatic analysis

coulostatic analysis

[‚kü·lə′stad·ik ə′nal·ə·səs]

(physical chemistry)

An electrochemical technique involving the application of a very short, large pulse of current to the electrode; the pulse charges the capacitive electrode-solution interface to a new potential, then the circuit is opened, and the return of the working electrode potential to its initial value is monitored; the current necessary to discharge the electrode interface comes from the electrolysis of electroactive species in solution; the change in electrode potential versus time results in a plot, the shape of which is proportional to concentration.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.