Despite its direct connection with foundational chemistry topics such as thermodynamics and kinetics and its experimental simplicity, electrochemistry has not found widespread adoption in undergraduate laboratory curricula. A major hurdle to more universal use of electrochemistry is an economic one since potentiostats cost upwards of hundreds or thousands of dollars. Here we present the Potentiostat for Undergraduate-Designed Electrochemical Laboratories (PUDELstat), a low-cost potentiostat optimized for use in undergraduate teaching laboratories. Based on the ATmega32 microcontroller at the heart of the Arduino prototyping platform, the PUDELstat improves on earlier versions of low-cost potentiostats by introducing a means for ohmic drop compensation, thus improving the reproducibility and reliability of electrochemical data. We also introduce a user-friendly, open-source, standalone application based on LabVIEW that not only improves signal-to-noise, but also allows customization of electrochemical experiments. At Simmons University, we have introduced laboratory modules based on the PUDELstat to a first-year general chemistry sequence, and a junior-level course in inorganic chemistry. In addition to exploring electrocatalysis pertaining to the hydrogen energy economy and the electrochemical detection of contaminants, students have used the PUDELstat to electrodeposit their own catalyst formulations and have evaluated them for the carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). We have found that CUREs based on electrochemical methods have boosted student confidence in participating in the search for the next generation of CO2RR electrocatalysts, while building on concepts introduced in lecture.

Potentiostat for undergraduate-designed electrochemical laboratories and the search for CO2 reduction catalysts

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