Title: current distribution
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - current distribution
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.C01456
Status: current

Definition
The ratio of current density at a point X on an interface to the average current density (\(\frac{j_{\rm{x}}}{j}\)) is called the 'relative local current density'. The current distribution is described by the function \(\frac{j_{\rm{x}}}{j} = f(x)\) (or more generally, \(\frac{j_{\rm{x}}}{j} = f(x,\,y,\,z)\) where \(x\) or \((x,\,y,\,z)\) are the coordinates of the points of the electrode-solution interface. The 'primary current distribution' is that which establishes itself when the influence of overpotential is negligible. The 'secondary current distribution' is that which establishes itself when the influence of the overpotential cannot be neglected but concentration overpotential is negligible. The secondary distribution is often described in terms of dimensionless numbers of the form \[\mathrm{Wa}=\frac{\kappa }{l}\ \frac{\mathrm{d}\eta }{\mathrm{d}j}\] where \(\kappa \) is the conductivity of the solution, \(\frac{\rm{d}\eta }{\rm{d}j}\) the slope of the overpotential-current curve under the above conditions and \(l\) a characteristic length of the system, for instance the radius of a disc electrode. \(\mathrm{Wa}\) is the 'Wagner number'. It is a quantity which determines the throwing power and characterizes the equalizing influence of overpotential on the current distribution. In electroplating the 'throwing power' is qualitatively defined as 'the ability of a solution to deposit metal uniformly upon a cathode of irregular shape'. The 'tertiary current distribution' is that which establishes itself when the influence of the overpotential (including concentration overpotential) cannot be neglected.

Related Terms
- average current density: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/A00539
- cathode: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C00905
- concentration overpotential: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C01230
- conductivity: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C01245
- current density: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C01452
- interface: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/I03082
- overpotential: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/O04358

Source
- PAC, 1981, 53, 1827. 'Nomenclature for transport phenomena in electrolytic systems' on page 1836 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198153101827)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C01456/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C01456/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C01456/xml

Citation: Citation: 'current distribution' 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.C01456
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Accessed: 2026-06-13T13:26:39+00:00