
195Electrochemical Kinetics
From this equation, we can see that there are a few control parameters that
will enable an increase in j
0
. The parameters n, F, and R cannot be changed
for a given reaction. The decrease of energy barrier {αFη/RT}, increase in
temperature T, increase of reactant concentration C
R
, and increasing reaction
area lead to a higher value of j
0
. The activation energy barrier has a strong
inuence on j
0
. Since
it appears as an exponent, a slight decrease in the acti-
vation energy barrier can induce substantial increase in j
0
.
The most effective way to decrease the activation energy barrier is to use
highly catalytic electrodes. ...