Potentiostatic current transient techniques were employed to study the electroreduction process of surface layers formed on polycrystalline cobalt in carbonate-bicarbonate ion-containing solutions. The dynamic system analysis performed using parametric identification procedures and non-linear fit routines demonstrated that data obtained under a wide variety of experimental conditions may be interpreted by taking into account the participation of various Co(II)/Co(III)-containing surface species. The influence of the anodizing time at the potential of oxide film formation may be discussed on the basis of the proposed electroreduction models.
Cobalt oxides; electroreduction; potential steps; kinetic models