Rayleigh-Benard Convection in an Electrochemical Redox Cell

Abstract

Damped voltage oscillations occur when current steps are applied to a cell consisting of a thin layer of Fe(111)/Fe(11) electrolyte sandwiched between horizontal, parallel, platinized platinum electrodes. The upper electrode must be the anode, and the magnitude of the current must be larger than a threshold value. The oscillations signal the onset of convection in the fluid. The experiment provides a new method for investigating transient convection processes.