Surface Laboratory

Teflon Electrochemical Cell

A custom teflon electrochemical cell was designed for using wafer samples as the working electrode.

Teflon Electrochemical Cell

The cell design and performance is described in
N. R. Wozniak, A. A. Frey, L. W. Osterbur, T. S. Boman, and J. R. Hampton, "An electrochemical cell for the efficient turn around of wafer working electrodes," Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81 034102 (2010).
[online version]

The wafer samples are sandwiched between two pieces of teflon. The bottom piece has a recessed area to hold the wafer. The top piece holds a Kalrez o-ring.

The wafer is placed in the bottom teflon piece and a copper foil is taped into position on top of it. A hole is drilled in to the copper foil to allow electrical connection between the sample and the copper at the edges only.

The top teflon piece is placed on top of the copper foil. Two screws clamp the entire sandwich together. A liquid-tight seal is formed at the o-ring/wafer interface. The electrolyte is placed in the top teflon piee and can make contact with the center of the wafer.

The cell is used in conjunction with the Bioanalytical Systems Cell Stand. The working electrode connection is made at the copper foil. The reference and counter electrodes are placed in the electrolyte.