Accelerating Effect of Tetramethylthiourea on the Kinetics of Zn2+ Electroreduction

The results of kinetic measurements of Zn²⁺ electroreduction on mercury electrode in the presence of tetramethylthiourea showed the two‐step character of the electrode process. The acquisition of nonlinear wide potential range Tafel plots was found to offer a good opportunity to examine the Zn²⁺ electroreduction mechanism. Three mechanisms including the ion transfer step followed by the electron exchange step (IE mechanism), the adsorption step (IA mechanism) and the chemical step followed by electron transfer (CE) were applied. The accelerating influence of tetramethylthiourea on Zn²⁺ electroreduction was found to result from possible complexes formation in the diffuse layer. The ion transport step is probably combined with the loss or exchange of a ligand. The second step probably consists in the electron transfer or adsorption process connected with partial charge transfer.