The mechanism of the platinum indicator electrode in argentometry

A study has been made of the behaviour of platinum and some other inert electrodes in silver nitrate titrations. Where the metal surface has been subjected to a reducing treatment, such as cathodic polarization, before use, the electrode will often function as a silver indicator electrode throughout the titration. It has been shown experimentally that this is due to the formation of a layer of metallic silver upon the electrode by interaction of the surface with silver ions in solution. If the metal surface undergoes such pretreatment that it is oxidized, then its potential normally remains at the oxide value during a silver nitrate titration until the silver ion concentration is sufficiently great for this value to be exceeded by the silver silver ion potential; formation of metallic silver then again takes place and from this point onwards the electrode behaves as a silver electrode. A detailed interpretation of the behaviour of platinum after various pretreatments has been made along these lines.