Electrochemical devices like potentiostats are essential for conducting practical experiments in areas such as chemistry, biochemistry, and materials science. However, commercial potentiostats are often costly, placing them out of reach for many educational institutions and students. This lack of access restricts hands-on learning and limits students’ ability to engage directly with critical concepts in electrochemistry, potentially diminishing their understanding and interest in the field.
To address this problem, we propose an affordable, portable potentiostat designed specifically for cyclic voltammetry, paired with a feature-rich mobile application. This solution overcomes the high cost of commercial potentiostats by providing a low-cost, accessible device that enables students and educators to conduct experiments, set custom measurement parameters, analyze results, and explore data through interactive graphs—all without the prohibitive expense of traditional equipment. Additionally, built-in educational tools, such as a chatbot and an electrode-cleaning simulator, enhance the learning experience by making complex concepts more accessible and fostering a deeper, hands-on understanding of electrochemical processes.
A potentiostat is an electronic device that measures the current generated by a reduction-oxidation reaction in an eletrochemical cell, by controlling the potential difference between two electrodes. It monitors how the current changes as the voltage is controlled, allowing for the study of various electrochemical processes, including:
It is a staple in most laboratories that deal with electrochemistry for reaction analysis as well as very welcome in an educational context, to prepare future professionals for its use.
The particularity of this device is its ability to continuously monitor the reaction and control the applied potential, providing researchers with more stable and solid data.
Commercial portable potentiostat from Metrohm.
Commercial compact potentiostat from Metrohm.
Electrochemical technique often commonly used to study how electrons move within a chemical reaction. In this method, the voltage applied to the working electrode is steadily increased over time. Once it reaches a set value, the voltage is steadily decreased back to the starting point. This cycle can be repeated as many times as needed to gather more data. The result is a graph showing the current (flow of electrons) versus the applied voltage at the working electrode, helping researchers analyze details of the reaction.
