Partial current


In electrochemistry, partial current is defined as the electric current associated with half of the electrode reaction.
Depending on the electrode half-reaction, one can distinguish two types of partial current:
The cathodic and anodic partial currents are defined by IUPAC.
The partial current densities are the ratios of partial currents respect to the electrode areas :
The sum of the cathodic partial current density ic and the anodic partial current density ia gives the net current density i:
In the case of the cathodic partial current density being equal to the anodic partial current density, the net current density on the electrode is zero:
When more than one reaction occur on an electrode simultaneously, then the total electrode current can be expressed as:
where the index refers to the particular reactions.