A minimally arbitrary numerical method for the separation of faradaic and background currents of interest

Various self-limiting adsorptive processes occur that modify the electrode-electrolyte interface in a well-defined way. A few of these processes include reductive desorption of self-assembled monolayers, underpotential deposition of metals, and oxidation of adsorbed CO. The characterization of these systems requires determining the adsorbate coverage. The most common electrochemical technique for this is to perform voltammetry on the adlayer, which is integrated to obtain the charge. However, to obtain accurate coverages, it is necessary to subtract background currents due to unrelated processes. The development and application of a minimally arbitrary numerical background subtraction scheme is the subject of this article.