Multichannel potentiostat having an adjustable counter-electrode potential

• US 20090114537A1
• Filed: 10/10/2008
• Published: 05/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Inventors: Bourgerette, Alain, Marchand, Gilles
• Granted Patent: US 8,152,977 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/406
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/48 using polarography, i.e. measuring changes in current under a slowly-varying voltage

Abstract

The multichannel potentiostat comprises a reference terminal, a counter-electrode terminal, and at least two working terminals, respectively designed to be connected to a reference electrode, a counter-electrode and at least two working electrodes of an electrochemical cell. The potentiostat comprises first and second regulating circuits to apply a setpoint voltage respectively between the first and second working terminals and the reference terminal. The potentiostat comprises a control circuit of the counter-electrode voltage applied to the counter-electrode terminal. The control circuit comprises a first input terminal connected to a predefined potential and a second input terminal to which a regulating voltage representative of at least one of the voltages of the working terminals is applied.

Claims

1. A multichannel potentiostat comprising

a reference terminal, a counter-electrode terminal and at least two working terminals respectively designed to be connected to a reference electrode, a counter-electrode and at least two working electrodes of an electrochemical cell,

a first regulating circuit to apply a first predefined setpoint voltage between the first working terminal and the reference terminal,

a second regulating circuit to apply a second predefined setpoint voltage between the second working terminal and the reference terminal,

a control circuit of the counter-electrode voltage applied to the counter-electrode terminal, said control circuit comprising a first input terminal connected to a predefined potential and a second input terminal to which a regulating voltage representative of at least one of the voltages of the working terminals is applied.

2. The potentiostat according to claim 1, wherein the predefined potential is ground.

3. The potentiostat according to claim 1, wherein the predefined potential is the mean of the potentiostat supply voltages.

4. The potentiostat according to claim 1, wherein the predefined potential is the mean of the limit voltages of the electrochemical window of the electrolyte.

5. The potentiostat according to claim 1, wherein the setpoint voltages are independent from one another.

6. The potentiostat according to claim 1, wherein the regulating voltage is constituted by a combination of the voltages applied to the working terminals.

7. The potentiostat according to claim 1, wherein the regulating voltage is constituted by the mean of the voltages applied to the working terminals.

8. The potentiostat according to claim 1, wherein the regulating voltage is constituted by the working voltage applied to one of the working terminals.

9. The potentiostat according to claim 1, wherein the regulating circuits comprise a first input connected to the reference terminal, a second input connected to the corresponding setpoint terminal, and an output connected to an input of a measuring operational amplifier which has a second input connected to the corresponding working terminal.

10. The potentiostat according to claim 9, wherein the counter-electrode voltage control circuit is formed by an operational amplifier having an inverting input forming the second input terminal of the control circuit and a non-inverting input forming the first input terminal of the control circuit.