Electrochemistry of Gallium

Abstract

Gallium is an important element in the production of a variety of compound semiconductors for optoelectronic devices. Gallium has a low melting point and is easily oxidized to give oxides of different compositions that depend on the conditions of solutions containing Ga. Gallium electrode reaction is highly irreversible in acidic media at the dropping mercury electrode. The passive film on a gallium surface is formed during anodic oxidation of gallium metal in alkaline media. Besides, some results in published reports have not been consistent and reproducible. An increase in the demand of intermetallic compounds and semiconductors containing gallium gives rise to studies on electrosynthesis of them and an increase of gallium concentration in the environment with various application of gallium causes the development of electroanalysis tools of Ga. It is required to understand the electrochemistry of Ga and to predict the electrochemical behavior of Ga to meet these needs. Any review papers related to the electrochemistry of gallium have not been published since 1978, when the review on the subject was published by Popova et al. In this study, the redox behavior, anodic oxidation, and electrodeposition of gallium, and trace determination of gallium by stripping voltammetries will be reviewed.