Teaching the Tenets and Applications of Hydrodynamic Voltammetry Using an Inexpensive, User-Friendly, Hands-on Setup with a Rotating Platinum Electrode in Aqueous Solution to Fortify Student Comprehension of Voltammetry

Abstract

With an awareness of the considerable discomfort of graduate students in grasping the crux of key concepts of voltammetry and its variants, I present an inexpensive and user-friendly hands-on setup based on the fabrication of a rotating platinum electrode to facilitate teaching the tenets and applications of hydrodynamic voltammetry (HV). Readily available materials such as a bicycle hub, a pair of wooden pulleys, thread, a platinum microelectrode fused to a glass tube, and a small synchronous motor were used in the assembly of this hands-on setup, which provides a means for instructors to fortify the concepts of electro-analytical principles in HV such as electrochemical processes, redox reactions, the nature of voltammograms, diffusion limited current, and pertinent equations. This activity aims to engage students in strengthening comprehension of the tenets of HV and prompts design thinking in them to explore its applications. The activity is suitable for graduate STEM students with some chemistry background.