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What Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) got wrong, from 19 theses
Summary written by a model from the records below: The records document practical limitations and analytical failures encountered when applying cyclic voltammetry across various chemical, material, and sensing systems. Researchers frequently faced challenges including overlapping background reactions, solvent stability limits, capacitive and ohmic distortions, matrix interferences, and mass transport or kinetic complexities that impeded accurate characterization. These records come from graduate theses, 2021 to 2025, each labeled with its degree where the repository states it, and each links to its thesis. They were extracted by language models reading the full text, so treat each as a lead to read, not a verdict.
Plus 9 problems the authors left open, listed at the end.
Failure modes, by theses reporting them
Select a mode to jump to its records.
Confounding kinetics and mass transport limitations impede quantitative analysis and parameter extraction
High scan rates, bulk intercalation processes, and reverse scan distortions prevented accurate determination of intrinsic catalytic activity and degradation behavior. Additionally, narrow overpotential ranges and competing reaction kinetics prevented the reliable extraction of standard potentials, transfer coefficients, and dissociation parameters.
Tried and failed
direct cyclic voltammetry on sensing electrode applied to standard reduction potential determination. Outcome: data insufficient. Reason: could not acquire standard potential with sufficient precision under experimental conditions
Tried and failed
variable scan rate cyclic voltammetry trumpet plots applied to interfacial electron transfer kinetic parameter extraction. Outcome: data insufficient. Reason: limited overpotential perturbation ranges prevented reliable extraction of transfer coefficients
Mechanistic Studies of Interfacial Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer to Molecularly Defined Surface Sites · MIT · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected cyclic voltammetry (20 mV/s) for liquid cell degradation studies because high scan rate causes mass transport limitations and peak broadening, failing to match galvanostatic battery degradation
Towards reproducible lithium-ion battery cycling using liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy · EPFL · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected using fast cyclic voltammetry for quantifying intrinsic OER activity on oxygen-deficient perovskites because currents from bulk electrochemical oxygen intercalation overestimate catalytic activity; used steady-state galvanostatic measurements instead.
Activity and Stability Design Principles of Transition Metal Compounds for Decarbonization · MIT · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected cyclic voltammetry (CV) in favor of linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) for soluble-insoluble systems (Ni/Cr) due to distortions from reverse scans.
Rotating Disk Electrode Design for Concentration Measurements in Flowing Molten Chloride Salts · Virginia Tech · Master's
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected full cyclic voltammetric wave analysis (peak potential/current) for extracting acetic acid dissociation parameters in favor of steady-state limiting current analysis at a microelectrode to avoid requiring unknown hydrogen evolution reaction kinetics/mechanisms on Pt electrodes.
Computational electrochemistry · Oxford · PhD
Weak electrochemical signals are swamped by parasitic reactions and background currents
Low analyte concentrations and sub-picoampere electrochemical currents were frequently obscured by dominant electrolyte background reactions. Furthermore, overlapping background processes and spurious gas evolution from surface contamination prevented the detection of target redox peaks and desorption signals.
Tried and failed
cyclic voltammetry applied to organic ligand redox characterization. Outcome: no signal. Reason: redox currents were undetectable due to overlapping background processes
Synthesis and characterisation of conductive metal-organic framework materials · Oxford · PhD
Tried and failed
cyclic voltammetry applied to atomically thin 2D heterostructures. Outcome: no signal. Reason: Sub-picoampere electrochemical currents were dominated and obscured by parasitic electrolyte background reactions
The Physics of High-Temperature Superconducting Cuprates in van der Waals Heterostructures · Harvard · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected cyclic voltammetry for monitoring intercalation because sub-picoampere currents were swamped by parasitic electrolyte reactions, choosing in-situ Hall potentiometry instead
The Physics of High-Temperature Superconducting Cuprates in van der Waals Heterostructures · Harvard · PhD
Tried and failed
in situ liquid-cell cyclic voltammetry applied to uncleaned nanoparticle-modified microelectrodes. Outcome: no signal. Reason: surface contamination caused spurious gas evolution obscuring characteristic electrochemical redox peaks
In situ electron microscopy of nanomaterials dynamics in heterogeneous phase environments · MIT · PhD
Capacitive charging currents and uncompensated ohmic drop distort voltammetric measurements
Large non-Faradaic capacitive currents and uncompensated resistance drops degraded measurement accuracy and caused classification models to fail at fast scan rates. Uncorrectable iR drop distortions and ohmic sensitivity also prevented the reliable extraction of standard electrochemical potentials and electron transfer rate constants.
Tried and failed
physics-informed Bayesian model hypothesis testing applied to electrochemical cyclic voltammetry classification. Outcome: did not generalise. Reason: kinetic limitations, uncompensated resistance drop, and unmodeled capacitive charging currents at faster scan rates
Voltammetric Methods Augmented with Physical Models and Statistical Inference · MIT · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) for electrode current-potential characterization due to large capacitive currents; multistep chronoamperometry was selected instead.
Novel electrode fabrication and reactor design for electrocatalytic nitrate and nitrite reduction in drinking water treatment · UT Austin · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected onset potentials in voltammetry for calculating standard electrochemical potentials because onset potentials are poorly defined and sensitive to temperature and ohmic currents.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected extracting ET rate constants at high overpotentials via fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (Laviron method) due to uncorrectable iR drop distortion and potential SAM oxidative desorption.
Infrared Spectroelectrochemical Studies of Redox-Active Self Assembled Monolayers: Structure and Kinetics · Saskatchewan · PhD
Target redox processes fall outside the electrochemical stability window of the solvent or electrolyte
Target molecules and coordination complexes frequently failed to display measurable redox activity because their redox couples fell outside the accessible solvent window. Similarly, high electron affinities or aqueous electrolyte boundaries precluded the observation of reversible redox responses for polymers and capping ligands.
Tried and failed
electrochemical reduction characterization via cyclic voltammetry applied to uranyl Schiff base coordination complexes. Outcome: no signal. Reason: redox couples fell outside the electrochemical solvent potential window
Synthesis and Characterization of Acyclic Schiff Bases and Redox Active Chelation of Actinides · Texas Tech · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected cyclic voltammetry (CV) for HOMO determination in Chapter II because many BBOs did not exhibit a redox cycle within the solvent window, using UPS instead.
The evolution of linear and cross-conjugated benzobisoxazole organic semiconductors designed for organic light-emitting diode application · Boston University · PhD
Tried and failed
electrochemical cyclic voltammetry in aqueous electrolyte applied to conjugated copolymer with high electron affinity. Outcome: no signal. Reason: electron affinity was too high to permit redox response in aqueous solution
Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Electron Transporting DPP-based Copolymers for Application in Organic Electronics · Georgia Tech · PhD
Complex media and solvent interactions introduce peak artifacts, broadening, and potential shifts
Biological media and buffers caused significant peak broadening, oxidative current attenuation, and large negative switching artifacts at high potentials. In addition, polar solvents altered energy levels upon contact with films, while oxidized catalyst forms and ligands produced confounding extraneous peaks.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected cyclic voltammetry (CV) for measuring dye frontier orbitals because polar electrolyte solvents altered energy levels upon contact with thin films
Bridging the gap between stability and performance of next-generation light-converting materials · University of Washington · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected measuring catalyst cyclic voltammetry redox potentials due to excessive unknown peaks from oxidized catalyst forms and ligands.
Anti- Bacterial Properties Of Bisphenolic Honokiol Derivatives · Penn · PhD
Tried and failed
Fast scan cyclic voltammetry at high potentials applied to analyte detection in HEPES buffer. Reason: Buffer introduced a large negative switching peak artifact when scanning up to high anodic potential.
Electroanalytical engineering strategies for monitoring molecules in neuroscience · Imperial · PhD
Tried and failed
Fast scan cyclic voltammetry at microelectrodes applied to analyte detection in cell culture media. Outcome: no signal. Reason: Complex media components caused severe peak broadening, positive potential shifts, and attenuated oxidative current.
Electroanalytical engineering strategies for monitoring molecules in neuroscience · Imperial · PhD
Left open by the authors
Problems the authors named and did not get to.
Left open
Test pCOOH-DPPTz-BTh films via cyclic voltammetry in aqueous electrolyte to assess electrochemical stability and measure OECT device performance. Blocker: Requires synthesized polymer samples and physical wet lab electrochemical/transistor testing apparatus.
Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Electron Transporting DPP-based Copolymers for Application in Organic Electronics · Georgia Tech · PhD
Left open
Resolve the discrepancy in current peak magnitudes between cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry measurements during oligomer degradation. Blocker: Requires wet lab electrochemical experiments (CV and DPV) and physical samples undergoing oligomer degradation.
Thin-film transistor : characterization, scaling studies, and applications in electrochemical charge sensing · UT Austin · PhD
Left open
Elucidate mechanistic pathways and obtain cyclic voltammetry profiles for direct and NaCl-mediated electrochemical oxidations of amines. Blocker: Requires wet-lab electrochemical equipment and cyclic voltammetry experiments
An Electrochemical Oxidation Prins-type Cyclisation Sequence for the Synthesis of Substituted N-Heterocycles and Copper-Catalyzed Conjugate Addition Towards Hydnocarpic Acid Synthe · University College Dublin · PhD
Left open
Investigate low-potential current density increases observed during cyclic voltammetry of P(EO-MO) electrolytes with LiTFSI. Blocker: Requires a wet lab with polymer synthesis capabilities and electrochemical cyclic voltammetry equipment.
Developing Dynamic Plastics for Improved Sustainability and Energy Storage Technologies · Cornell · PhD
Left open
Perform cyclic voltammetry on 5,6,9,10-tetramethoxy-2-methylphenanthro[9,10-b]thiophene to determine the mechanism of the second oxidative annulation. Blocker: Requires wet lab electrochemistry equipment and synthesized chemical intermediate (5,6,9,10-tetramethoxy-2-methylphenanthro[9,10-b]thiophene).
Part 1: Structure-Property Relationships of Regioregular Poly(3-alkylthiophene)s Bearing Branched Side Chains Part 2: Ferric Chloride-Promoted Oxidative Annulation of 3,3’,4,4’-Tet · Georgia Tech · PhD
Left open
Identify and test negative electrolytes with redox potentials between -0.3 V and -0.6 V for acidic Fe-QA redox flow batteries. Blocker: Requires wet chemistry lab, chemical synthesis, and electrochemical full-cell testing hardware
Development of Iron Complex-based Aqueous Redox Flow Batteries for Large-scale Energy Storage · Harvard · PhD
Left open
Characterize square wave voltammetry on bipolar electrodes to background-subtract capacitive charging current. Blocker: Requires a physical electrochemical wet lab and bipolar electrode apparatus
Left open
Develop deconvolution or Fickian diffusion models to separate overlapping secondary insulin and serotonin oxidation peaks from fast-scan cyclic voltammograms. Blocker: Requires experimental FSCV voltammogram datasets from bevelled carbon fiber microelectrodes or wet lab electrochemistry equipment.
Electroanalytical engineering strategies for monitoring molecules in neuroscience · Imperial · PhD
Left open
Develop statistical variance models for voltammetric current measurements incorporating baseline drift and capacitive effects. Blocker: Requires experimental voltammetry data with known ground-truth noise profiles or a wet lab to collect calibration datasets
Voltammetric Methods Augmented with Physical Models and Statistical Inference · MIT · PhD
Who has worked on this
Authors of the public theses cited on this page, most-cited first.
- Brenna Parke · Imperial · PhD · 2023
Electroanalytical engineering strategies for monitoring molecules in neuroscience - Alexis M. Fenton Jr. · MIT · PhD · 2022
Voltammetric Methods Augmented with Physical Models and Statistical Inference - Shu Yang Frank Zhao · Harvard · PhD · 2021
The Physics of High-Temperature Superconducting Cuprates in van der Waals Heterostructures - Audrey Scholz · Georgia Tech · PhD · 2021
Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Electron Transporting DPP-based Copolymers for Application in Organic Electronics - Y Wang · Oxford · PhD · 2025
Synthesis and characterisation of conductive metal-organic framework materials - John Ducilon · Texas Tech · PhD · 2025
Synthesis and Characterization of Acyclic Schiff Bases and Redox Active Chelation of Actinides - Dandan Lin · University College Dublin · PhD · 2025
An Electrochemical Oxidation Prins-type Cyclisation Sequence for the Synthesis of Substituted N-Heterocycles and Copper-Catalyzed Conjugate Addition Towards Hydnocarpic Acid Synthesis An Electrochemic - Noah B. Lewis · MIT · PhD · 2024
Mechanistic Studies of Interfacial Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer to Molecularly Defined Surface Sites - Serin Lee · MIT · PhD · 2024
In situ electron microscopy of nanomaterials dynamics in heterogeneous phase environments - William C. Howland III · MIT · PhD · 2023
Diagnosing Band-Mediated Electrochemical Half-Reaction Mechanisms and Identifying the Unique Features Thereof - Jinxu Gao · Harvard · PhD · 2023
Development of Iron Complex-based Aqueous Redox Flow Batteries for Large-scale Energy Storage - Bronson Evan Cox · Georgia Tech · PhD · 2023
Part 1: Structure-Property Relationships of Regioregular Poly(3-alkylthiophene)s Bearing Branched Side Chains Part 2: Ferric Chloride-Promoted Oxidative Annulation of 3,3’,4,4’-Tetrahexyloxy-1,1’- bip
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