Chemical Inductor

A multitude of chemical, biological, and material systems present aninductive behavior that is not electromagnetic in origin. Here, it is termed a chemicalinductor. We show that the structure of the chemical inductor consists of a two-dimensional system that couples a fast conduction mode and a slowing down element.Therefore, it is generally defined in dynamical terms rather than by a specificphysicochemical mechanism. The chemical inductor produces many familiar features inelectrochemical reactions, including catalytic, electrodeposition, and corrosion reactions inbatteries and fuel cells, and in solid-state semiconductor devices such as solar cells, organiclight-emitting diodes, and memristors. It generates the widespread phenomenon ofnegative capacitance, it causes negative spikes in voltage transient measurements, and itcreates inverted hysteresis effects in current-voltage curves and cyclic voltammetry.Furthermore, it determines stability, bifurcations, and chaotic properties associated to self-sustained oscillations in biological neurons and electrochemical systems. As theseproperties emerge in different types of measurement techniques such as impedancespectroscopy and time-transient decays, the chemical inductor becomes a useful framework for the interpretation of the electrical,optoelectronic, and electrochemical responses in a wide variety of systems. In the paper, we describe the general dynamical structureof the chemical inductor and we comment on a broad range of examples from different research areas.

Automated summary

Chemical inductor is a non-electromagnetic inductive behavior present in various chemical, biological, and material systems. Its structure consists of a two-dimensional system coupling a fast conduction mode and a slowing down element, and it is generally defined in dynamical terms. Chemical inductor exhibits familiar features in electrochemical reactions, solid-state semiconductor devices, and biological neurons, and plays a crucial role in system stability, bifurcations, and chaotic properties.