e measurement of a solution’s conductivity, which is proportional to the total concentration of dissolved ions, is one example of a bulk electrochemical technique. e simplest division of electrochemical techniques is between bulk techniques, in which we measure a property of the solution in the electrochemical cell, and interfacial techniques, in which the potential, charge, or current depends on the species present at the interface between an electrode and the solution in which it sits. Although there are only three basic electrochemical signals, there are a many possible experimental designs-too many, in fact, to cover adequately in an introductory textbook.
In this chapter we turn our attention to electrochemical techniques in which the potential, current, or charge in an electrochemical cell serves as the analytical signal. 667 Chapter 11 Electrochemical Methods Chapter Overview Section 11A Overview of Electrochemistry Section 11B Potentiometric Methods Section 11C Coulometric Methods Section 11D Voltammetric and Amperometric Methods Section 11E Key Terms Section 11F Chapter Summary Section 11G Problems Section 11H Solutions to Practice Exercises I n Chapter 10 we examined several spectroscopic techniques that take advantage of the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter.
