Lower bound of the capacitance of constant phase elements based on electrochemical impedance spectra
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy as a Tool for Electrochemical Rate Constant Estimation
Published on: October 10, 2018
Jan Dippell1,2, Timo Danner1,2, Arnulf Latz1,2,3
1German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany. Timo.Danner@DLR.de.
Abstract:
For many applications it is of interest to find the capacitance corresponding to a specific interface or bulk element from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Often a constant phase element (CPE) is used to model the data. While some formulas are commonly used in literature to find the capacitance of a CPE they lack the physical foundation for such a general usage. A CPE mathematically has an infinite capacitance, which in most cases is physically impossible. Here we investigate EIS elements that closely follow a CPE above a certain frequency. For these we can give finite lower bounds for the capacitance depending on that frequency. We additionally develop formulas to include experimental uncertainties in the calculation of a minimum capacitance for CPE-like EIS elements.
Related Concept Videos
Equivalent Capacitance
The following strategies are adopted to calculate...
Equivalent Capacitance
Susceptibility, Permittivity and Dielectric Constant
Capacitors
When a voltage source is connected to a capacitor, positive and negative charges accumulate on the opposite plates. This accumulation generates a potential difference that equals the product of the...
Capacitor With A Dielectric
Dielectrics are non-conducting materials with no free or loosely bound electrons. When a dielectric is...
Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor

