The Effect of High Magnetic Fields on Electrode Reactions followed by Chemical Reactions

In order to investigate the effect of magnetic field on electrode reactions with EC (electrode-chemical reaction) and ECE (elctrode-chemical-electrode reaction) processes, the electrochemistry of 1,4-benzoquinone (Q) and oxygen molecule in aprotic solvents was studied with cyclic voltammetry (CV) in steady high magnetic fields up to 15T. A new anodic peak was observed above 6 T at -1.2 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in the CV curves of Q in N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF). For the electrode reaction of oxygen in the presence of diethyl malonate (DEM) in DMF, the rate-determining step was found to shift from the diffusion step into the chemical reaction step of O₂ ^·– and DEM, with increasing magnetic fields. These results were explained in connection with the magnetohydrodynamic effect.