overpotential
overpotential noun: the difference between the electric potential of an electrode or cell under the passage of a current and the thermodynamic value of the electrode or cell potential in the absence of electrolysis.
Noun
overpotential (plural overpotentials)
- The difference between the electric potential of an electrode or cell under the passage of a current and the thermodynamic value of the electrode or cell potential in the absence of electrolysis.
- One of the factors that limits their development and use is that known anode and cathode electrocatalysts produce useful current densities only at high overpotentials.1998 June 12, Erik Reddington et al., “Combinatorial Electrochemistry: A Highly Parallel, Optical Screening Method for Discovery of Better Electrocatalysts”, in Science, volume 280, number 5370...
- Synonyms:
- overvoltage
Synonyms of overpotential
Forms of overpotential
| plural | overpotentials |
|---|
Origin of overpotential
From over- + potential.
Questions about overpotential
- What does overpotential mean?
- Overpotential means the difference between the electric potential of an electrode or cell under the passage of a current and the thermodynamic value of the electrode or cell potential in the absence of electrolysis.
- What part of speech is overpotential?
- Overpotential is a noun.
- What is the plural of overpotential?
- The plural of overpotential is overpotentials.
Words near overpotential in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: overpotential (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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