Rotating disk electrode column: Glass carbon electrode coating operation tutorial
In electrochemical experiments, we often use the rotating disk electrode as a good helper, and many students use it for the first time. As the saying goes, "one minute on the stage, ten years off the stage", many of the top papers of the scientific research gods are impressive, and their experimental basic skills are quite solid.
Take the coating operation in the electrochemical experiment as an example, the seemingly simple coating operation is not simple to do well, only each step is familiar with the heart, and each coating film is very beautiful and standardized, so that if you stick to it, you will get twice the result with half the effort in the later experiments.
Here we will show you the spin coating method for coating operation, and the instrument required is the "rotary electrode spin coater"
1. Fix the glassy carbon electrode on the spin coater first
2. Turn on the speed switch to keep the electrode rotating stably at a suitable speed. Note that the speed here should not be too high, too fast speed is not conducive to stable spin coating, novice practice should pay special attention, unhurried speed can be.
3. Use a pipette or syringe to absorb a certain amount of catalyst ink, manipulate the droplets of the pipette head, gently touch the disk surface of the glassy carbon electrode, ensure that the droplets are completely and evenly covered on the disk electrode, and wait for the ink to dry in the rotating state.
This step is very critical, and many new students in the experiment are inexperienced, and it is inevitable that their hands will tremble, the point will not be correct, and the liquid will overflow during the control process. This requires diligent practice to ensure that valuable materials are not wasted during the experiment, and that the hands are stable and the eyes are accurate.
4. If conditions permit, infrared lamps can be used to accelerate ink drying.
5. Quality inspection of coating film
After the spin coating is completed, we have to carry out a quality inspection, which does not mean that there is no problem with the naked eye, which is not rigorous. Through professional equipment, the surface coating film of the disk electrode is guaranteed to be uniform and the ink is dried reasonably.
Through the magnification inspection of electronic equipment, it can be seen that the thickness of the coating film is uniform, and the spin coating disc surface is relatively rounded, which meets the experimental requirements.
The above is the introduction of electrode spin coating operation, good experimental operation habits, which is of great benefit to the development of scientific research path.