Title: electroactive substance
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - electroactive substance
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.E01940
Status: current

Definition
In voltammetry and related techniques, a substance that undergoes a change of oxidation state, or the breaking or formation of chemical bonds, in a charge-transfer step. If an electroactive substance B is formed, in the solution or electrode, by a chemical reaction from another substance C, the substance C should be called the precursor of B. In potentiometry with ion-selective electrodes, a material containing, or in ion-exchange equilibrium with, the sensed ion. The electroactive substance is often incorporated in an inert matrix such as poly(vinyl chloride) or silicone rubber.

Related Terms
- charge-transfer step: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C01007
- chemical reaction: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C01033
- inert: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/I03026
- ion-selective electrodes: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/I03244
- oxidation state: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/O04365

Source
- PAC, 1985, 57, 1491. 'Recommended terms, symbols, and definitions for electroanalytical chemistry (Recommendations 1985)' on page 1500 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198557101491)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/E01940/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/E01940/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/E01940/xml

Citation: Citation: 'electroactive substance' 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.E01940
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Accessed: 2026-05-12T00:21:58+00:00