The Effect of High Magnetic Fields on Electrode Reactions followed by Chemical Reactions

Abstract

In order to investigate the effect of magnetic field on electrode reactions with EC (electrode-chemical reaction) and ECE (elctrode-chemical-electrode reaction) processes, the electrochemistry of 1,4-benzoquinone (Q) and oxygen molecule in aprotic solvents was studied with cyclic voltammetry (CV) in steady high magnetic fields up to 15T. A new anodic peak was observed above 6 T at -1.2 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in the CV curves of Q in N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF). For the electrode reaction of oxygen in the presence of diethyl malonate (DEM) in DMF, the rate-determining step was found to shift from the diffusion step into the chemical reaction step of O2·– and DEM, with increasing magnetic fields. These results were explained in connection with the magnetohydrodynamic effect. © 1990, The Chemical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.