Potentiodynamic and cyclic voltammetric behaviour of a lead electrode in NaOH solution

The electrochemical behaviour of lead in NaOH solution was studied by potentiodynamic and cyclic voltammetric techniques in combination with X-ray diffraction analysis. The active dissolution of lead involves a small shoulderA1′ followed by a peakA1 prior to a passive region. The shoulderA1′ is assigned to the electroformation of a Pb(OH)2 film, whereas peakA1 is due to the formation of PbO. Beyond the passive region, the current density increases again, forming a small shoulderA2′ and a peakA2 prior to the oxygen evolution potential. The shoulderA2′ and the peakA2 are correlated to the electrooxidation of PbO to Pb3O4 and PbO2, respectively. The intensity of the anodic peaks increases with increasing alkali concentration, temperature and scan rate. In cyclic voltammetry, the reverse scan shows two cathodic peaksC1 andC2 which are correlated to the electroreduction of PbO and PbO2 respectively, to Pb.