A MATHEMATICAL-DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT FLOW DURING PHASE-TRANSITIONS IN SOLID-SURFACE FILMS

A mathematical treatment is presented with the aim of describing the t ime course of the coverage of an electrode surface by a metallic depos it layer or a solid-like organic monolayer when the film undergoes a p hase transition, i.e. when the metal layer dissolves or a solid-liquid /gas transition in organic films takes place. An approximate expressio n is derived for the current which flows through the cell as a respons e to this process, assuming that the dissolution of the solid phase is initiated at patch boundaries and proceeds as a progressive shrinkage of these patches.