Electrochemical assessment of calcium carbonate deposition using a rotating disc electrode (RDE)

An electrochemically-based technique, which uses assessment of the oxygen reduction reaction at a rotating disc electrode, has been devised which shows promise as a method for studying nucleation and growth of mineral scale at a solid surface. In this paper the background and development of the technique are described for the study of deposition of CaCO₃ from a supersaturated solution. Results are presented which illustrate the good correlation between the surface coverage predicted by electrochemical analysis and the actual coverage quantified by image analysis. The potential of this technique for mechanistic studies of surface scaling and for assessment of inhibitors is discussed.