Ready-to-use 3D-printed electrochemical cell for in situ voltammetry of immobilized microparticles and Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

We report in this communication a ready-to-use fused deposition modeling (FDM) based 3D-printed spectroelectrochemical cell to perform for the first time voltammetry of immobilized microparticles (VIMP) and Raman spectroscopy in situ using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) as the filament material for printing. The 3D-printed cell was applied to evaluate solid state electrochemical behavior of tadalafil as a proof-of-concept. Several advantages were achieved in the use of the developed device, such as less manipulation of the working electrode, monitoring the same region of the solid microparticles before and after electrochemical measurements, better control of the laser incidence, low-cost and low-time production. Furthermore, the device was printed in a single-step, without handling to assembly and it has an estimated material cost of approximately 2 $. The use of 3D-printing technology was significantly important to integrate Raman spectroscopic method with VIMP measurements and to support mechanism elucidation and characterization of the compounds with less manipulation of the working electrode, avoiding loss of solid products formed from electrochemical reactions.