On-line accumulation of electrochemical data

Data collection itself in making measurements in electrode kinetics is relatively straightforward. There are a number of commercial systems that will carry out rudimentary data collection, such as those marketed by Solartron for impedance measurements, PAR for cyclic voltammetry and impedance measurements, BAS for cyclic voltammetry. The difficulty comes in designing a reasonably intelligent system that will deal with carrying out suitable experiments and cope with large amounts of accumulated data. The latter is not trivial and, in operational terms, is more important than the first. 

The elements needed for an electrochemical computer system are common to other scientific areas, where a suitable transducer is available to convert the experimental data into electrical signals. Electrochemical measurements have a big advantage in that the electrical signals are directly available. A list of the software and hardware components might be 

There are many ways in which the points (a)-(e) could be built into a system and the strategy described here has evolved out of many blind alleys over ten years. There exist many methods of investigation in electrode kinetics. However, these all involve imposing a particular electrical 

Choice of electrochemical methods and the processing of electrochemical data 

The measurement of current and impedance are the major ways in which an electrode reaction can be investigated. Other methods such as linear potential sweep and various pulse methods can easily be implemented using the present system and may be useful under some conditions. 

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