Mechanism of Oxygen Reduction At an Iron Cathode Available to Purchase

Mechanism of the anodic corrosion process is discussed. The paper refers to previous articles wherein hydrogen peroxide was assumed to be an intermediate in the corrosion reaction, particularly where ferrous materials are involved. Discusses experiments with iron-amalgam cells with a description of the procedure and diagrams of apparatus. Tables are included with present data on current, current density, percent absorption upon cathode solution and percent yield of hydrogen peroxide. An inspection of these data show that the greatest yields of peroxide were obtained in alkaline solutions with small current densities. Results indicate that possibly hydrogen peroxide also was formed in the acidic solutions but was more quickly reduced further to the hydroxyl ion which reacted to form water. A possible explanation is given of the instability of hydrogen peroxide in the acid as contrasted to its greater stability in the alkaline solution. Results obtained with those from previous parallel experiments are compared.