Compact portable potentiostat for specific applications: development and measurements

Abstract

Thanks to constant progress, devices in the field of electrochemical analysis are more accurate and smaller in size. This enables the transfer of electrochemical analytical techniques outside the highly specialised laboratory to the commercial environment for direct application use. This trend creates a demand for portable, affordable devices, enabling user-intuitive testing even in the field. Considering these requirements, a potentiostatic platform was developed, enabling the use of various electrochemical analytical methods. The device contains a complete analog front end, a microcontroller controlled by supporting circuits and a communication interface. The device was tested and compared with reference laboratory potentiostats using standard solutions, thus demonstrating the accuracy of the developed platform. These experiments made it possible to qualitatively evaluate the platform's ability to perform cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. In addition, they demonstrated the ability of the device to work as a portable analytical potentiostat capable of measuring samples using basic electrochemical methods.