Title: Levich equation
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - Levich equation
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.09140
Status: current

Definition
Equation relating limiting current at a rotating disc electrode (see hydrodynamic voltammetry) to the amount concentration of an electroactive substance in bulk solution \(c_{0}\), \[I_{\rm{lim}} = k\,z\,F\,A\,D^{2/3} \omega^{1/2} \nu^{−1/6} c_{0}\] where \(k\) is a numerical factor, \(z\) the electron number of an electrochemical reaction, \(F\) the Faraday constant, \(A\) the electrode surface area, \(D\) the diffusion coefficient of the electroactive substance, \(\omega\) the angular velocity (rotation rate), and \(\nu\) the kinematic viscosity of the solution.

Notes
1) The value of \(k\) depends on the units used for quantities in the equation (\(D\), \(A\), \(\omega\), \(\nu\), \(c\)), and is 1.554 for \(A\) in \(\pu{cm2}\), \(D\) in \(\pu{cm2 s-1}\), \(\omega\) in \(\pu{Hz}\), \(\nu\) in \(\pu{cm2 s-1}\), \(c_{0}\) in \(\pu{mol cm-3}\), and \(I_{\rm{lim}}\) in \(\pu{A}\).
2) The equation is named after Veniamin Grigorievich Levich (1917–1987).

Related Terms
- electrode surface area: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/09074
- electron number of an electrochemical reaction: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/09063
- hydrodynamic voltammetry: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/09138
- rotating disc electrode: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/09124

Source
- PAC, 2020, 92, 641. 'Terminology of Electrochemical Methods of Analysis (IUPAC Recommendations 2019)' on page 674 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2018-0109)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/09140/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/09140/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/09140/xml

Citation: Citation: 'Levich equation' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.09140
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Accessed: 2026-05-01T09:53:32+00:00