WORKING ELECTRODE

"The electrode in a three-electrode cell where ""the action is."" The kinetics and mechanism of the electrode reaction may be under investigation, or the reaction occurring on the working electrode may be used to perform an electrochemical analysis of the electrolyte solution. It can serve either as an anode or a cathode, depending on the applied polarity. One of the electrodes in some ""classical two-electrode"" cells can also be considered a ""working"" (""measuring,"" ""indicator,"" or ""sensing"") electrode, e.g., in a potentiometric electroanalytical setup where the potential of the measuring electrode (against a reference electrode) is a measure of the concentration of a species in the solution. "