The Quartz Crystal Microbalance in Electrochemistry

Abstract

Abstract The quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is based on the principle that a change in resonance frequency of a quartz crystal is directly proportional to a change in total mass (crystal and surface deposit). When one of the quartz crystal contacts is the working electrode of an electrochemical cell, the charge passed during an electrochemical process can be correlated with nanogram mass changes on the quartz crystal electrode. Other factors that influence overall frequency change include viscoelastic behavior of electrode deposit, surface roughness, entrapment of solvent or air in electrode deposit, nonuniform mass distribution, and ambient temperature changes. The ability to determine both the energy dissipation, D , and resonance frequency change, f r , illustrates the use of QCM as both a gravimetric and viscoelastic probe of materials deposited onto the quartz crystal electrode surface.