In this work we have studied secondary reactions that can influence the shape of the dissolution peak of iron obtained by anodic stripping polarography. We observed two kinds of reactions:

• classical polarograms, i=f(t) curves on the DME, the influence of dissolved oxygen on the dissolution peak of iron obtained by anodic stripping, and other studies, show that deposited iron can be very easily oxidized by chemical oxidants in the solution.
• the effect of temperature on the dissolution peak, as well as of the presence of Fe(III) or Al(III) hydroxides in solution, shows that the iron deposit can be protected against chemical oxidation by adsorption of non-electroactive compounds, particularly of complexes such as Fe_n(OH)_m^(3n−m). This adsorbed film should not be too compact in order to avoid the inhibition of the electrochemical dissolution process.