“EduPotStat”: Construction and testing of a low cost potentiostat

Abstract

In this work we developed a low cost potentiostat to monitor redox processes using open source software and hardware for undergraduate laboratories in the developing countries. The developed system consists of three main modules namely user interface, triangular voltage generator, and current to voltage converter. Arduino Uno, 12-bit digital to analog converter and nine operational amplifiers were used to construct the proposed hardware. It operates in voltage range -2.5 V to +2.5 V and measure current in the range of ± 25 µA -0.025 A with 10 nA resolution and 1 mV DC-potential resolution for the cyclic voltammetry measurements. The performance of this system is compared with a commercially available potentiostat using K3Fe(CN)6 solutions. The three-electrode system reported here is screen-printed electrodes with aqueous KCl as the electrolyte. Results are in good agreement with commercially available research grade potentiostat. Overall cost for developed system is around $50 which make possible to use in undergraduate education.