Influence of magnetic forces on electrochemical mass transport

Enhancements of the order of 100% in the mass transport limited current for electrodeposition have been observed in magnetic fields of order 1 T. The effect of the field is to induce convection in the solution and it is equivalent to rotating the electrode or stirring the solution. In this communication, a quantitative comparison is made of the magnitude of various body forces which have been proposed to account for the experimentally observed effects, with a view to identifying the likely source of the field enhancement. When the magnetic field is uniform, the Lorentz force and the electrokinetic force both contribute significantly to the field enhancement.