Experimental Demonstration of Diffusion-Limited Dynamics in Electrodeposition

We present the first quantitative proof of the diffusive character of the mass transport in thin gap electrodeposition experiments. Applying phase-shift interferometry for the local determination of the concentration field, we demonstrate that the diffusion equation can accurately describe the mass transport in cells whose gap is less than 50 μm. We also show the correspondence of the time evolution of experimental interfacial depletion profiles along the reacting electrode with the theoretical prediction of a simple diffusion equation.