Light scattering from a passivating electrode surface and from an electrode surface subject to pitting corrosion

A new application of the light scattering technique is presented, in which an electrode surface is illuminated perpendicularly and the light scattered during the electrochemical process is measured at a fixed angle. The method is applied to the study of the passivation of nickel and to its pitting corrosion, as examples of electrochemical surface roughening processes. It is concluded that the method can be a valuable tool in the study of such processes, although as yet no theory is available with which the observed light scattering patterns can be interpreted.