Passivation of Silver and Current Oscillations During Anodic Dissolution of Silver in H2SO4+Ag+Solutions

We report the first observation of silver electrode passivation during anodic dissolution in sulphuric acid electrolytes. The passivation is of a salt type. Preliminary observations of nonlinear effects in this system: current oscillations and multiperiodic cyclic voltammograms are also presented. Microscopic inspection revealed, that during dissolution of the electrode, silver powder accumulates at the surface. Observed oscillations have a strong transient character, presumably resulting from the modification of diffusion conditions by powder accumulation.