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Standard Operating Procedures
eDAQ Potentiostat
eDaq Operation Manual

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Mirmamar College Potentiostat

Report by Marianne Samonte, Dec 2009

 

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Familiarization with EChem software.
1. Turn on the eDAQ potentiostat by reaching behind the e-corder 410 and turn ontherocker switch located at the bottom left. The overload light on the potentiostats hould go away in a few seconds. Next, double-click the EChem icon “EChem Version 2.51” (displayed as a hand on a voltammogram) on the computer desktop on the right side bar to launch the EChem program. The screen shows an X-Y graph of potential applied to the working electrode (V, x-axis) against the current passed (μA, y-axis) by the working electrode. If the overload light on the potentiostat does not go away, it can be over-ridden by clicking on the Potentiostat under the iChannel heading.

2. Double-click on the Potentiostat button to the right of the main window to openthepotentiostat dialog box. Change the radio button from Standby todummy,whichinternally connects a resistor between the electrodes. Set the current range to100 μA and alter the appliedpotential using either the slider control or by typingavalue intothe potential display.Increase the potential in 0.1 V jumps, the current trace should vary as you change the potential. The relationship should be linear as expected from Ohm's law (Voltage = I (current) * R (resistance)). Finally reset the potential to 0 V.

3. Change the radio button from dummy to cell. The potential will now be applied across theelectrodes. Repeat the procedure in Step 2, keeping the potentialsbetween –0.2 V and +1.0V. Do NOT exceed these limits. It will be necessary to change the current range (try 200 µA) to see the current responses. Notice that there is a small range of potentials over which the current is very sensitive to applied potential.

4. Reset the potential to 0 V and click OK to close the potentiostat dialog box. The potentistat will automatically switch to standby mode.

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Cyclic Voltammetry of Sample Solution
1. Double-click on the Potentiostat button again and switch the current range to 10 ?A on the potentiostat dialog box. Click on OK to close the Potentiostat dialog box.

2. From the techniques menu select Cyclic Voltammetry. This opens the Staircase Cyclic Voltammetry dialog box, which is used to set the limits and ramp rate of the voltage waveform applied to the working electrode.

 

In the dialog box, select the following parameters:

Initial = 0 mV
Final = 0 mV
Upper Limit = 700 mV
Lower Limit = -700 mV
Rest Time = 5 s
Ramp Rate = 100 mV/s
Step Width = 20 ms
Step Height = 2 mV
Sampling Period = 5 ms
Number of Cycles = 3

 

(These parameters are for Ferrocene Carboxylic Acid. The parameters can be changed for the particular sample that will be analyzed. Glossary for parameters is located at the end of the procedure.) Click on View to preview the waveform defined.

3. Select the Notebook under the Windows menu. Write some general notes on the experiment including your name, Date, time and solution details. Close the window and save the file using a suitable filename.

4. Lift the nitrogen line out of the solution. Check that there are no bubbles trapped on the surface of the electrode. If there are, lightly tap the cell to dislodge them.

5. Click on Start to begin the potential scans. After the scans, place the nitrogen line back into the solution. The scan should look like the voltammogram below.

6. Adjust the current range under the potentiostat menu and apply the low pass filter if the signal is too noisy. Change the settings in the staircase Cyclic Voltammetry dialog box by adjusting the upper and lower limit so that the scan is zoomed to the oxidation reduction potential (0 to -700mV). If the current reading goes off scale, adjust the current range, and repeat the scans. If the signal has too much noise, adjust the Low Pass filter to a lower number. Adjust the other parameters after the scan is run to optimize the signal. Note the changes of the voltammogram at different settings. Example: the lower the ramp rate is, the longer it takes to make a graph but the more accurate the graph will be. Rate is related to step height and width by Rate = Step Height * Step Width. After the scans are done, click on the Page comment button (bottom left of screen) and enter a comment for the middle scan (solution, scan rate etc.). The arrows on the horizontal and vertical axis make the graph wider or slimmer.

7. Degas the solution again with nitrogen remember that the solution should be degassed after each trial. In the Staircase Cyclic Voltammetry dialog box, change the following parameters- • Ramp Rate to 200 mV/s, • Step Width to 10 ms • Sampling Period to 2.5 ms. Repeat Steps 4 to 6 to obtain a new set of three voltammograms.

8. Repeat Step 7, with the following parameters- •Ramp Rate of 500 mV/s •Step Width of 4 ms •Sampling Period of 1 ms, adjusting the current range if necessary. Next repeat Step 7 again, with the following parameters- •Ramp Rate of 1000 mV/s •Adjust the other parameters accordingly to optimize the voltammogram.

9. Switch the current range to an optimum value and obtain scans at Ramp Rate of 10 mV/s, Step Width of 200 ms, Sampling Period of 50 ms, and Current Range to 50 uA.

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Data Analysis
1. Overlay the middle cyclic voltammogram (CV) scan of the four obtained for thesample solution at the different scan rates (ramp rates at 100, 200, 500 and 10 mv/s), by highlighting the corresponding page tabs while holding down the Command key(Apple symbol is on the key) on the keyboard. Print and label the overlain CVs. Annotate a single CV on the printout with the peak potentials(Ep Ox and Ep Red) and peak currents (ip Ox and ip Red).

2. As with many electrochemical techniques, cyclic votammograms often have sloping baselines, and the peak currents cannot be read directly. In EChem, two marker points can be used to define an estimated baseline from which the peak currents can be determined.

To set the two marker points, switch to the view of current and applied potential against time view by selecting IE vs t in the Display pop-up menu.

3. To measure the peak oxidation current (ip Ox), drag the marker, M, onto current (I) channel to t=0. Press Control and Command keys simultaneously, click the marker that was put at t=0 and drag a second marker with the mouse onto the CV that is independent of the waveform. Adjust the second marker so the tie line forms a tangent with the initial current slope during the oxidizing sweep. See Figure 4 for an example. Use the cursor to measure the peak current relative to the baseline. The baseline correction is also shown on the screen. Repeat measurements for each CV.

4. To measure the peak reduction current (ip Red) drag an initial marker onto the current channel at the time where the reduction scan starts. Press Control and Command keys simultaneously, click the marker that was put at t=0 and drag a second marker onto the CV that is independent of the waveform. Adjust the second marker so the tie line forms a tangent with the initial current slope during the oxidizing sweep. See Figure 5 for an example. Use the cursor to measure the peak current relative to the baseline. Repeat measurements for each CV.

The type of data that is acquired from the instrument is a voltammogram, the curve of current (i), measured in uA, versus potential (E), measured in voltage, for half reaction potentials. For a cyclic voltammogram, both the oxidized and reduced forms of the reaction are shown. The data is analyzed by obtaining the peak currents and peak potentials for the reduction and oxidation half-reactions. The redox reaction is diagnosed as reversible with the following criteria: if ΔE_p = E_p^Red – E_p^Ox = 59 mV/n where n is number of electrons, i_p^Ox/i_p^Red= 1, i_p^Ox and i_p^Red αV_1/2, or E_p^Ox and E_p^Red independent of V. An important equation used for analysis is the applied potential, E, and the concentration of the two redox forms in accordance with the Nernst equation: E = E_o + (RT/nF) ln [Oxidized species]/[Reduced species].

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III Nomenclature and Notation

CV has been claimed to be the most versatile electroanalytical technique for the study of electroactive species. Its versatility combined with ease of measurement, has resulted in its extensive use in almost every field of chemistry. CV spectroscopy can provide information about reaction kinetics and electron transfer mechanisms, this technique is used mostly to measure ground state redox potentials. The general setup for cyclic voltammogram measurements uses a three compartment cell consisting with a platinum disk working electrode, a platinum wire auxiliary electrode and a general purpose AgCl reference electrode. Room temperature measurements are obtained in a degassed (dry dinitrogen) electrolyte solution consisting of a saturated solution of tetraethylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TEAH) and alumina in 50 ml solvent (solvents used were described for each complex). Low temperature measurements (-77°C) will required a dry-ice acetone bath to house the electrode and CV cell. The first step is to scan background voltammograms for each analyte by running CV's of the electrolyte solution, after which approximately 2 mg of the complex is added to the working cell chamber and the CV recorded. In some instances, current sensitivity and switching potentials are varied to elucidate wave patterns in the voltammograms. After measuring the voltammograms for each complex, voltammograms are measured for ferrocene (5.0mg). Since the half-wave potential E l/2 for Fc+/o is insensitive to solvent and temperature, this redox potential is ideal as an internal reference. All CV’s were monitored at scan rates of 1.0 V/s. The nomenclature for the CV results are illustrated and described in the figures below.

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IV Cyclic Voltammogram Examples

1) http://www.basinc.com/mans/EC_epsilon/Techniques/CycVolt/cv.html
This example shows a cyclic voltammogram with Epc, ipc, ipa, and Epa shown. Epc (potential at cathodic peak) is about 380.0 mV and ipc (current at cathodic peak) is about -23 ?A. Cathodic peak is from the reduction (gain electron) reaction and anodic peak is from the oxidation (lose electron) reaction. Epa (potential at anodic peak is about 450.0 mV and ipc (current at anodic peak) is about 28 A.	.

 

2) Cyclic voltammograms of trans-[Rh(H2O)4Cl2]+ at different scan rates http://www.chemistrymag.org/cji/2005/071005pe.htm
This example shows several cyclic voltammograms of a rhodium compound (35 ug/mL) at different scan rates overlaid over each other, as was performed in the protocol. A couple of the scan rates are 120 mV/s and 40 mV/s. The reaction is not reversible because ?Ep = EpRed – EpOx = -0.2V – (-0.16V) = -0.04V, which does not equal 59mV or a factor of it.	.

3) Two scans of 5 mm Ferrocyanide in 0.1 M KNO3. http://www.cypresshome.com/Software/Acquire101.html
This example shows a reversible reaction because Ep = EpRed – EpOx = 180mV – 300mV = 120mV which is about 120mV/2 = 59mV. This means that 2 electrons are transferred in solution. for eDAQ eCorder and PowerChrom for Cyclic Voltammetry5	.