Voltammetry in viscous poly(ethylene glycol) solutions at microelectrodes

Voltammetric currents of the ferrocenyl derivative in highly viscous poly(ethylene glycol) solution (PEG) at microelectrodes were independent of their viscosity, contrary to the prediction from the diffusion-controlled current combined with the Stokes–Einstein equation. The usage of microelectrodes generally prevents deformation of voltammograms by poor conductivity. However, the voltammograms even at the disk electrode 10 μm in diameter and slow scan rates exhibited hysteresis, because the diffusion coefficient in PEG was smaller than in water owing to high viscosity of the solution. The diffusion coefficients evaluated from the peak current through the diffusion equation at microelectrode were of the order of 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹ for the viscosity ranging from 0.1 to 160 Pa s. They are at most by 1000 times larger than the values calculated from the viscosities by the Stokes–Einstein equation. A practical significance of this result is to suggest a possibility of using highly viscous PEG as solid-like solvents without large restriction of mass transport. A possible diffusion model is that the redox species diffuses through lowly viscous local domains, avoiding collision with the backbone of the polymer network.