A simple and low-cost portable potentiostat with real-time data sharing for wireless electrochemical analyses

Abstract

In this work, we developed a new wireless and battery-powered potentiostat. The device interfaces with a smartphone using a Bluetooth protocol to receive the experimental data and visualize them in real-time. This approach simplifies the design and decreases both size and cost of the device. We developed an open Android application named “BluChem” for controlling the device wirelessly, in addition to an API and a website that can be used in remote locations for data processing and management. This new integration model is presented for the first time for data acquisition and displaying of the results. It allows users non-present locally in the experiment to access, edit, process, and manage the results, opening new opportunities for real-time data acquisition and application in extreme or remote onsite conditions. The developed device is also the first to perform five different electrochemical techniques in a single device: chronoamperometry, cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, differential pulse, and square wave voltammetry. Different measurements validated the performance of the proposed device compared with analogous performance using a conventional benchtop instrument. The results obtained by the two instruments were almost superimposable, and current values were statistically equal (ρ > 0.05). The current and voltage operational ranges of the new potentiostat (±1.5 V, ±1 mA) are more limited than benchtop potentiostats. However, its operating range is sufficient for most electroanalytical analyses. The potentiostat is also simple, small in size, inexpensive (< 40 USD), wireless, and completely integrated and controlled by a smartphone and a website. Therefore, this device can be considered a remote, wearable, and onsite electroanalysis landmark.