Magnetic field effect on electrode reactions .2. Effects on the potential of an iron electrode in an iron(III) chloride solution under galvanostatic conditions

Under galvanostatic conditions, both the anodic and cathodic electrode potentials of a working electrode of iron in a stirred iron(III) chloride solution increase when exposed to static magnetic fields. The increase was found to depend on the magnetic flux density and the electrolyte concentration. Also, the increase in the anodic electrode potential was observed within the pre-passive potential region of the iron electrode, and the increase in the cathodic electrode potential was associated with an increase in the cathodic limiting current density. Results from experiments using stainless steel as working electrode in 1 M iron(III) chloride, and experiments using iron in 1 M iron(II) chloride, showed no effect of the magnetic field. The observed results were found to be explainable in terms of neither external electromagnetic interference nor electromagnetic induction, i.e. magnetohydrodynamics.