Theory is presented for cyclic voltammetry at a hemispherical electrode under conditions where the electric field is nonzero and migration is significant to mass transport. The nonlinear set of differential equations formed by combining the Nernst-Planck equation and the Poisson equation are solved numerically, subject to a zero-field approximation at the electrode surface. The effects on the observed voltammetry of the electrode size, scan rate, diffusion coefficient of electroactive and supporting species, and quantity of supporting electrolyte are noted. Comparison is drawn with experimental voltammetry for the aqueous system [Ru(NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+/2+ at a Pt macroelectrode with varying levels of supporting electrolyte KCl. The approximations concerned are shown to be applicable where the ratio of supporting (background) electrolyte to bulk concentration of electroactive species (support ratio) exceeds 30, and general advice is given concerning the quantity of supporting electrolyte required for quantitatively diffusion-only behavior in macroelectrode cyclic voltammetry. In particular, support ratios are generally required to be greater than 100 and certainly substantially greater than 26, as has been suggested for the steady-state case.

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A theoretical model for electrochemical processes in resistive media is applied to interpret the current measured for the stripping of thallium from a Tl/Hg amalgam. Chronoamperometry is presented for a potential step experiment at a 12.5 µm radius hemispherical mercury drop in which thallium is first deposited and then stripped. Unusual features are observed in the transient stripping current, and it is proposed that these occur when the concentration of thallium(I) cations in solution is so great that the inert electrolyte salt is no longer in excess and the system is only partially supported. The theoretical model uses the Nernst-Planck-Poisson equations, which take into account the effects of the electrical potential in the aqueous phase, and avoids making the approximation of electroneutrality. The numerically simulated current accurately predicts the unusual experimental behavior.

Chronoamperometry is reported on the one electron oxidation of 3 mM ferrocene in acetonitrile using a 300 ± 5 μm radius gold hemisphere electrode. Varying concentrations of supporting electrolyte (tetra-n-butylammonium perchlorate) are used ranging from the fully supported (100 mM) to the almost completely unsupported (0.1 mM). The response is simulated using the Nernst−Plank−Poisson system of equations and excellent agreement between theory and experiment noted, so vindicating a recent theory (J. Phys. Chem. C, 2008, 112, 13716) for voltammetry in weakly supported media.