Ring-disk electrode studies of the formation, growth and transformation of iodine films formed during the anodic oxidation of iodide on platinum

The kinetics and mechanism of the formation, growth and dissolution of iodine films on platinum during the electrooxidation of iodide have been investigated using rotating-disk and ring-disk techniques. The dissolution-precipitation mechanism of film formation and a linear growth law for film growth has been confirmed. The iodine film on platinum is believed to be made up of an ionically insulating barrier layer covered by a porous overlayer. The oxidation behavior of iodide and ferrous species shows that the iodine film is predominantly an iodide-ion conductor. Also, a film transformation, responsible for the transient features observed during iodide oxidation has been confirmed. This transformation changes the mechanism of iodide transport through the film from a partly "pore"-type to a Grotthus-type mechanism. The ring current maximum, which occurs at the same instant as the disk current minimum, reveals the mechanism of dissolution of iodine film during the transient period as involving complexation with iodide. Evidence for the mass-transport-controlled component of the potentiostatic transient response has been obtained from the sinusoidal hydrodynamic modulation response.