Contribution to the Theory of Electropolishing

An ideal electropolishing process is characterized by a plateau of the current density‐potential curve corresponding to the maximum diffusion rate of an acceptor for metal ions toward the anode. Such a process is amenable to a quantitative theoretical analysis. Formulas are derived for decrease of surface roughness as a function of the recess of the average surface, amount of metal dissolved per unit surface area, and product of current density and time.