The investigation of nucleation using microelectrodes: I. The ensemble averages of the times of birth of the first nucleus

The first passage times for the formation of the first nucleus of three deposits (α-PbO2, Ag and Hg) on a carbon microelectrode disk of area = 5 × 10−7 cm2 are compared with the models of such processes. It is shown that the interpretation of the data requires us to assume that nucleation starts with the formation of incoherent clusters. The transition to spontaneous crystal growth is suggested to be the consequence of the development of coherence domains in the electrodeposit.